Nottingham Forest duo Cheikhou Kouyate and Serge Aurier are making steady progress as they recover from their respective injuries.
Midfielder Kouyate was forced off in the Reds’ 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa earlier this month with a hamstring problem. The match at Villa Park was his first start since returning from another hamstring issue which had required surgery and had kept him out for four months.
Right-back Aurier, meanwhile, picked up a knock while on duty for his country during the last international break. He was substituted during Ivory Coast's 3-1 win over Comoros and has not featured in Forest’s five games since.
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“Cheikhou and Serge are not far off training fully with the group,” head coach Steve Cooper said. “Obviously they are not there quite yet; they are right at the back end of their recovery. Apart from that, the rest of the guys are still injured.”
The Reds have been hit hard by injuries for much of this season, with Cooper denied the services of a number of key players for long spells. Kouyate and Aurier are among 12 players sidelined ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Centre-back Scott McKenna’s name was added to the list when he suffered a fractured collarbone in Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Liverpool. He is set to miss the remainder of the season.
With Kouyate missing, Forest are particularly short of options in midfield as Jack Colback, Gustavo Scarpa, Ryan Yates and Jonjo Shelvey are also out. Chris Wood, Willy Boly, Dean Henderson, Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone make up the list of absentees.
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