Defender Giulian Biancone was given a warm reception by his Nottingham Forest teammates on his return to the Nigel Doughty Academy.
An anterior cruciate ligament injury, suffered in an innocuous incident in training, has kept the summer signing away from the club since November. He underwent surgery in Austria, then did part of his rehabilitation in Italy and is now back in the UK.
He is not yet training with Steve Cooper’s side again and would be unable to play even if fully fit as he is not included in the 25-man Premier League squad. But with unity a key priority amid Forest’s fight for survival, Biancone can still have a part to play.
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"Giulian is back and it's been great to see him,” said Cooper. “It's a real big step for him to be back with us, back in the city and back on the pitch but in his rehab, not training with the group.
"The players were really pleased to see him. He's a popular lad, a nice guy and has shown a great determination. We've been speaking to him this week about when he does actually return, now the injury has happened, how much stronger mentally he feels he will be as a footballer, because he will be grateful of playing.”
Biancone has been one of a number of long-term absentees as a significant injury list has hindered the Reds for much of this term. Dean Henderson became the latest player to be ruled out for the rest of the campaign, with Neco Williams, Chris Wood and Scott McKenna in the same boat.
Willy Boly is also unlikely to feature in the final four games. However, Cooper says the defender is “close to full training”.
Left-back Omar Richards, meanwhile, is still waiting to even pull on the Garibaldi for the first time. He has been out since the summer due to a hairline fracture of the leg, with a number of setbacks affecting his recovery.
"Omar is still getting close. He's not back training with us yet,” Cooper said.
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