Ryan Yates took another big step towards returning to the Nottingham Forest starting line-up with an hour for the club’s Under-21s on Monday afternoon.
Midfielder Yates had been unavailable through illness since January before returning with 20-minute cameo outings in the draw with Everton and defeat to Tottenham. He needed more game-time to get him geared up to play a major role in the club’s relegation battle, and he got just that in a Premier League Cup quarter-final win over Bristol City.
The 25-year-old played 66 minutes in the game before being withdrawn, the Reds seeing out a goalless draw over 120 minutes before triumphing on penalties 6-5. Oli Hammond converted in the second round of sudden death before Aaron Bott made the crucial save to send Forest through.
