Nottingham Forest defender Renan Lodi faces a late fitness check ahead of Sunday’s crunch clash with Everton.
The left-back was forced off with little more than 10 minutes to go of last weekend’s 4-0 thumping with West Ham United. He had been a doubt before that game at the London Stadium, due to a groin problem, and head coach Steve Cooper was coy over whether the Brazilian would be available to face the Toffees.
Cooper is still without a number of players heading into this weekend’s City Ground clash. Some are closer to returning than others, with the Welshman providing an update on the Reds’ absentees.
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“I’m not sure about getting any players back, it doesn’t go that way for us at the moment,” he said ahead of Sunday. “Renan walked off at West Ham, so we will see where he is with regards to the weekend.
“Lots of players are close to being fit and returning. Some players are quite a way away. When they are back and available, great, we will get them back involved.
“I’m not sure on Serge at the moment. I can’t put a timescale on how long he will be out for. He has picked up a few niggles since he joined us, but he is working hard so let's see.
“Taiwo is making good progress. He is out on the grass and he’s running. He’s not with the team yet and not kicking any balls, but he has made progress in terms of not just straight-line running but doing some change of direction, which is a positive step for him.
“He is still weeks away from being close to training. But he is making good steps.
“Yatesy (Ryan Yates) and Moussa (Niakhate) are back in training. Moussa has been out for a long while, we have to be really careful with introducing him back.
“We are desperate for him to be involved and to play, but he has had a long-term injury. It is not just about recovering from the injury but also building the body and making sure it is robust enough to, firstly, train with the team on a regular schedule, but then the demands of the Premier League, physically, are extreme. We need to make sure he is ready.
“He had a complex injury and he has had a few twists in the tale to recovery. But he is certainly in a good place now and at the latter stages. As soon as we know he is 100 percent ready to play we look forward to getting him back involved.
“Dean (Henderson) is still a few weeks away. He had a repeat scan earlier in the week. He is recovering, he is still on course for what the injury is but there is a show on the scan to show he is not quite ready to get back.
“He will be a few more weeks yet before he comes into the final stages of rehab and comes into training, which probably takes us to the international break. I don't think we will see him in training before the international break.”
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