FA Cup: Fulham's 'unbelievable' minute of madness
Fulham boss Marco Silva says Aleksandar Mitrovic has found his eight-match suspension "tough", as striker returns to contention for the Cottagers this weekend.
Mitrovic was banned for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh in an FA Cup loss to Manchester United in April.
He has now served his ban and may feature against Southampton on Saturday.
"It's been tough, I won't hide it from you," said Silva.
"His behaviour has been really good all this period, with support from ourselves."
The Serbia international received a three-match ban for the sending-off, three for violent conduct and an additional two for "improper, abusive, insulting and threatening" language. He was also fined £75,000.
"It was a strong feeling for us, it's clear it was an exaggerated thing. We admitted as a club that you cannot react in that situation," added Silva.
"It's clear, he did it, he admitted the mistake but the number of games, if you compare with other situations, is completely different.
"We as a club keep strong and we keep supporting him."
Carlos Vinicius has impressed in Mitrovic's absence, scoring two goals in his past three games, and Silva said Mitrovic's return had given him a "very good headache".
"It's what any manager wants," he added. "It was the reason we signed Carlos. Some important goals gave him the confidence he needs and it's nice to see him performing better and better in recent games.
"It shows everyone knows his role. Everyone is fighting for the club."
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