Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has said Taiwo Awoniyi is in a complex situation with his injury and the Super Eagles striker’s issue must be managed properly.
Awoniyi made his comeback from a groin problem at Anfield last weekend.
He was not fit enough to start but was brought on as Forest lost to a 3-0 defeat to his former side Liverpool.
His return was a boost for head coach Cooper, who is still without Divock Origi, Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
“Taiwo is a player we have to manage,” nottinghampost.com quoted Cooper as saying.
“He’s in a bit of a complex situation with his injury. It’s an ongoing one and it will be for a little while. It’s frustrating for him more than anyone else. He was doing so well and this has really held him back.
“It’s not as simple as he’s back training and he’s fully fit. It is something that is going to be a managing process for a little bit of time now. We’ll see if he’s available for the weekend but it could go either way.
“It is something we will have to take day by day. He has good support around him, in terms of the medical staff we have and hopefully he will be able to play more often than not. The question of international duty is a question for next week At the moment we are just focusing on what we might be able to get out of him this weekend.”
It remains to be seen if Awoniyi will be fit enough to be invited for this month’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Victor Osimhen is a major doubt for the games after picking up an injury in the Super Eagles’ friendly with Saudi Arabia.
Awoniyi has scored twice in seven games for the Super Eagles.
The 26-year-old has three goals and two assists in eight games in the Premier League this term.
Nottingham Forest are currently 16th in the Premier League standings with 10 points in 10 games as they battle to avoid the drop.
By Toju Sote
1 Comment
what a goal from Aina. this guy is a beast and very committed when playing. Though a Yoruba guy he has this character of warri pickin. I read a comment yesterday when a fan said Tina should be converted into a midfielder , I laughed and concluded that the person saying that must have been disillusioned by play station 5 soccer , but seeing Aina play mostly in the middle today says a lot about his versatility