Striker Lewis Grabban has been ruled out of the rest of Nottingham Forest’s season - and that might mean he has played his last game for the club.
The front man’s contract is up at the end of the campaign, but boss Steve Cooper says any thoughts over his future are on the back-burner as the club chase promotion. Grabban will not be involved for the final three games of the regular campaign, though, or in the play-off fixtures, should the Reds be involved.
The 34-year-old only recently returned from an ankle injury which had kept him sidelined since the end of January. However, he was forced off barely 15 minutes after coming off the bench in last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Peterborough United.
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“He won’t feature again this year, in terms of games we may or may not have to play,” said Cooper. “It’s looking at about a six to seven-week injury. Obviously we’re close to being a week into that now.
“It’s unfortunate for him. It was great that he was back in the mix and was starting to up his game time, and then unfortunately he’s had another set-back. That’s unfortunate for him and us.
“His future isn’t something that anybody is focusing on at the moment. The main focus with Lewis is getting the immediate treatment that is needed with these injuries to help the longer-term rehab.
“That’s just where he is, as well as everybody else. It’s not really a talking point at the moment.”
Forest are at home to Swansea City on Saturday, then travel to Bournemouth on Tuesday and go to Hull City on the final day of the season. They are guaranteed a top-six finish, but could yet beat the Cherries to the second automatic promotion spot.
