Nottingham Forest striker Lewis Grabban is “on course” in his recovery from an ankle injury.
The front man suffered a sprain in the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City at the end of January, ruling him out for a couple of months.
He has not had to undergo surgery, as had initially been feared, and boss Steve Cooper is hopeful Grabban will be back among his teammates soon after the upcoming international break.
The two-week hiatus comes after Forest’s clash at Fulham midway through this month, leaving a potential return for the team’s top scorer in the potentially-defining final few weeks of the campaign.
“He is progressing,” Cooper said, ahead of Friday night’s clash at Sheffield United.
“It’s a bit of a longer game with him because it was quite a bad ankle injury.
“I had a good update on him yesterday. He’s definitely on course.
“We won’t see him before the international break. But hopefully not too long after it, he’ll be back involved.”
After a lengthy absentee list earlier in the season, Cooper now has almost a full squad to choose from.
Grabban is currently the only player in the treatment room, although goalkeeper Brice Samba (suspended) and defender Max Lowe (ineligible) are ruled out for the trip to Bramall Lane.
“It’s good to have nearly a full squad,” the Reds head coach added.
“You have times like this and you have times where it goes the other way.
“What we’ve got to do is, regardless of player availability, not sulk and moan about it, just get on with the players who are available, give them the undivided attention to get ready for the next game.
“At the moment, touch wood, we’re pretty healthy. Long may that continue, because there’s still a lot of football to be played and some busy schedules.
“The more percentage of player availability we have, maybe the more headaches it causes me in team selection, but I’d rather that headache than not.”
