Boss Steve Cooper has spoken of his “pride” in Nottingham Forest defender Max Lowe after he made his comeback from injury.
The Sheffield United loanee had been absent for two months with a groin strain before making his return in Saturday’s victory over Derby County.
It was Lowe’s first appearance since he hobbled off in the 1-1 draw at Reading in November, with Cooper praising the way he has conducted himself in that time.
He came through 90 minutes against the Rams unscathed, and is likely to retain his starting spot when Barnsley visit the City Ground on Tuesday night.
“Max came through okay. I’m proud of Max, and generally pleased for him,” said Cooper.
“We were all gutted for him at the time when he limped off against Reading, which seems a long while ago now.
“He’s been an absolute credit to his profession in how he has handled himself through his rehab and his recovery.
“Just to think that he’d only had a few training sessions, to play in a big game like that, in the way that he did and the condition that he did, and come through it unscathed in every aspect, tells you everything about the lad.
“Fair play to him.”
Lowe’s return allowed Jack Colback to move back into his more familiar midfield role after the former Newcastle United man had filled in at left-back during his teammate’s absence.
“We’ve got a few players in the group who can double up in positions, which is good, especially when you go into a heavy run of games,” Cooper added. “There are times where you need some guys to play in different positions.
“Jack has shown that he can play very well in midfield and at left-back as well.
“You can ask Jack to do anything and play anywhere, and he always puts the team first - as do all the lads.
“We’ve got good options if we need to change things around.”
Forest hope Alex Mighten (knee) won’t be too far behind Lowe in being back in contention, although Joe Lolley is a little further off returning from his own knee issue.
They are set to be without defender Joe Worrall for six weeks after he broke three ribs against Millwall.
But Brice Samba has suffered no ill-effects from a collision with Derby’s Tom Lawrence which left him with a big bump on his forehead and wearing bandages for the second half of the weekend’s game.
“I saw Alex on the grass today, so he’s making good progress. Joe Lolley is a little bit behind him,” Cooper explained. “Those two are in the normal rehab stages.
“Brice is fine. Maybe it looked a little worse than what it was because of the lump. There’s no way the medical team would have taken any risks with him with regards to concussion or something that could have been close to the eye.
“The medical team did a good job at half-time, and Brice was desperate to carry on.
“Of course it didn’t look great, but maybe he wasn’t in as much pain as what it might have looked.
“He’s been fine. He trained on Sunday and trained today. He’s available for tomorrow.”
Forest will be out to make it three league wins on the spin against the Tykes, as they look to close the gap on the top six.
And Cooper is keen to ensure nobody gets caught up in the emotion of victory over their local rivals.
“It would definitely be good to get three league wins in a row,” he said.
“The more accumulation of points you can put together is always a good thing.
“We’ve talked a lot about building momentum and consistency. The best way to do that is to play well and win games.
“If there’s another opportunity to get three points tomorrow, we’ve got to be absolutely committed to trying to get them.
“It would mean three league wins on the run, which would be good. But we’re going to have to work hard for it. We’re going to have to play well and earn the right.
“We’re going to have to do all the things that it takes to win a football match. That’s what our focus is on.”
