Nottingham Forest hope to have midfielder Ryan Yates available again in a couple of weeks’ time, but the situation around Jesse Lingard is less clear.
Yates missed both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester United, having been forced off midway in the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. He had also been substituted the week before that clash with the Cherries, having taken a whack to the face against Leicester City.
Lingard, meanwhile, was due to make his first start since recovering from a hamstring problem at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. But he injured his Achille during the warm-up and was replaced by Emmanuel Dennis in the XI.
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“It’s frustrating for Jesse. With it only being Friday today and it happening on Wednesday, it’s still settling down, so we’re not quite sure of the extent of it,” said head coach Steve Cooper.
“Jack Colback is back with us after an illness. Apart from that, we’re as we were.
“We have got injuries, but I don’t want to talk about it, I only want to talk about the lads who are available. That’s where our focus is and our commitment is. We’re preparing as best we can, knowing there’s a tough game coming up against Leeds.
“One thing I can say is, we’ve got to the bottom of Ryan Yates. He’ll be back with us, training and playing, hopefully in two weeks, maybe a tough longer. That’s good.
“He had a bit of an illness we had to get to the bottom of. It will be good to have him back.”
Asked if there is a chance Lingard could be fit to face Leeds United on Sunday, Cooper said: “I’m not sure. We’re still in the stage of assessing. It’s not even been 48 hours since it happened, so it’s too soon to say.”
Forest are still without Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring) and Moussa Niakhate (hamstring). Giulian Biancone (ACL) and Omar Richards (hairline fracture of the leg) remain sidelined but have not been included in the Reds’ 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the season.
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