Nottingham Forest defender Omar Richards has taken a significant forward step in his recovery from injury.
The former Bayern Munich man is yet to make his debut for the Reds, having been sidelined with a hairline fracture of the leg since the summer. He is still some way off making his first appearance - and will not feature in the final two games before the World Cup break - but he has now partly joined in with training.
Richards was able to link up with his teammates today, as they prepare for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur. And boss Steve Cooper was pleased to have him involved.
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“Omar has trained today for the first time, actually, so that’s something which is positive,” said Cooper. “Only part-training, so it’s still going to take a while, and he won’t feature this week - typically, the week he comes back is the week with a break after it! But it’s great for him.”
Richards started rehabilitation work on the grass during the last international break. Prior to this week, he had been doing some running and “a bit of ball striking”.
The left-back’s progress is welcome news for Forest as it comes a few days after fellow summer signing Giulian Biancone was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Moussa Niakhate and Harry Toffolo both remain sidelined with hamstring problems, while midfielder Jack Colback has recently been struggling with a back issue.
After facing Spurs in midweek, the Reds host Crystal Palace on Saturday, in their final game before the season pauses. Their first match back will be away to Manchester United on December 27.
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