Bryan Mbeumo will be out for 12 WEEKS in a huge blow to Brentford with the Cameroon forward set to miss the Africa Cup of Nations as he faces surgery on his ankle today

Bryan Mbeumo's ankle injury will see the forward miss 12 weeks of action, in a huge blow to Brentford's Premier League campaign. 

The Cameroon star has been the star for the Bees in the absence of their talismanic forward Ivan Toney, who is continuing his football ban after being charged for betting breaches last season.

Mbeumo has managed to score seven goals in 15 games adding a further four assists to his tally, making him one of the more prolific forwards in the Premier League in terms of his output. 

Now though the Bees will have to do without their two best attackers as Mbeumo is facing around three months out with an ankle injury sustained in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton earlier this month.

The 24-year-old will undergo ankle surgery on Friday, and as a result he will also miss the entirety of the Africa Cup of Nations which is set to kick off next month. 

Revealing the extent of the injury, Brentford boss Thomas Frank insisted that although the initial prognosis was not great for side, the player would return 'stronger'. 

'Operation today in the ankle,' Frank said on Friday. 'Out for 12 weeks. So that will affect his Africa Cup of Nations. He will not participate.

'Let's get through the operation first. Bryan is a positive guy. Everyone that gets a set back it's always tough to take, but he will come back stronger. 

'Very, very good mindset so I'm convinced he will come back stronger.'

Brentford had thus far managed to accommodate the absence of Toney with only slight ramifications on their league performance. 

Despite the loss of arguably England's second best No 9 behind Harry Kane, Brentford are currently only two places behind their finish last term, and not at risk of being drawn into a relegation scrap. 

However, Frank hinted that this latest blow may force his side's hand when it comes to the January transfer window, with regards to strengthening their forward options. 

'Of course the long term (injuries) are irritating,' he added.

'Throughout the season from game one we have struggled with injuries but we have managed it well.

'Of course we need to look into it January. We are never rushing into things, we try to be clever and take calm, sensible decisions and we will do the same in January.

'So we will not take a player if we don't think it's for the longer term but maybe this time maybe a loan it depends how things go in the next three, four weeks.'

The return of Toney in January once his eight-month ban expires will be a welcome boost to the injury-stricken Bees, who are currently missing as many as nine first-team stars.