Nottingham Forest duo Jesse Lingard and Ryan Yates could make their comebacks in Saturday’s crunch clash with West Ham United.
The latter has been absent since the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth last month due to illness. Lingard, meanwhile, has been struggling with knee and Achilles’ problems and has not featured since the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United.
For the summer signing, this weekend pits the Reds against another one of his former clubs. Head coach Steve Cooper says the attacker is available, but will give careful consideration over whether he is ready to play - likewise with Yates.
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“He’s back training,” Cooper said of Yates. “It’s good for him really, because he’s been a nightmare when he’s not been on the training pitch, as you can imagine!
“We’ll see what happens for the weekend. We’re not going to rush anything, that’s for sure, but we won’t hold him back - and we don’t have to, either.
“It’s just nice to have him back in training. He’s a real culture-setter.
“Jesse is available for the weekend. Again, he’s one we have to be a little bit careful with, with not doing too much, too soon.
“He’s had a few constant niggles which have been a bit frustrating for all of us, but he’s back in training. With regards to the weekend, we’ll see whether it comes too soon. But he’s definitely been out training for the past couple of days.”
Forest have a substantial injury list to contend with, which has been added to with the news Serge Aurier is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a calf strain in last weekend’s draw against Manchester City. Scott McKenna (hamstring), Willy Boly (hamstring), Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring), Moussa Niakhate (hamstring), Omar Richards (hairline fracture of the leg) and Giulian Biancone (ACL) all remain absent. Cooper refuses to dwell on the number of players unavailable, however.
“I really believe in the group of players, and I always will do,” he said. “If I’m not the first one to believe in them, why should anyone else? I’m always of that mindset anyway.
“As soon as we see which players are available for a game and what we decide with, we get full concentration and preparation. Injuries are how it can go sometimes. It’s not what you want to happen, but it’s something we’re having to contend with at the moment.
“But we can still put a team out at the weekend. We can still go and play well, and we can still win. That’s all we’re focusing on.”
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