Nottingham Forest teammates Jesse Lingard and Brennan Johnson are among those to react to a message posted by Cheikhou Kouyate following his return to training.
The midfielder has been out of action since injuring his hamstring in Senegal’s World Cup opener against the Netherlands. He underwent an operation to fix the problem at the end of last year, and has since been in rehabilitation.
Kouyate has now taken a big step to returning to action by taking part in training ahead of Friday night’s game against Newcastle. Speaking about his return, Steve Cooper has hinted that he will be eased back into action.
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“Cheikhou is back in training. He did a little bit of part training last week and has been in more full training this week, but he has been out for a good few months,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “It's good to have him back because he's a good character and you can see the influence he has on the group.”
Following his return to the training pitch, Kouyate has taken to Instagram to send a message. Along with pictures of him back on the field with a ball at his feet he wrote:
"All praises to the most high Allah. it feel so good to be back to my favourite place.”
The message prompted responses from Forest teammates Lingard and Johnson. Lingard writing: “Unbelievable init”, while Johnson replied with: “my bro.”
Johnson himself is currently on the sidelines after he was forced off the field in the second half of the defeat against Tottenham at the weekend. He has since undergone scans, but has not been involved in training this week.
The academy graduate does though has a small chance of recovering in time for the visit of Newcastle to the City Ground, after being included in Wales’ squad for the upcoming international break.
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