Nottingham Forest have lobbied the Premier League to have Steve Cook restored to their 25-man squad amid an injury crisis which has decimated Steve Cooper’s defensive options.
Scott McKenna and Willy Boly both came off early on during Saturday’s defeat at Fulham and are set for lengthy spells on the sidelines. With Moussa Niakhate still working his way back to full fitness after his own injury issue, Joe Worrall and Felipe are the only available central defenders at present.
The request has drawn scorn from fans of other Premier League clubs, who have pointed out the Reds have signed 30 players over the last two transfer windows. However, Forest insist they have a legitimate case to bring Cook back into their ranks.
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Cooper said: “We are more than hopeful that will be fine, looking at how the rules are set up. We are expecting that to happen, with the circumstances we find ourselves in. That’s a positive as well, on the back of the injuries.
“We hope it will be for this weekend. We haven’t had it confirmed yet, but that is the hope.”
And despite the noise from rival fans, there is a recent precedent for the Premier League granting such a request. Less than a year ago, Watford successfully appealed to have midfielder Dan Gosling re-added to their 25-man squad following Ashley Fletcher’s loan exit to New York Red Bulls. Gosling had been omitted from the Hornets’ Premier League roster after struggling for game time over the first half of the 2021/22 season.
However, the situation did raise question marks over Watford’s decision to name Fletcher in their squad given they subsequently allowed him to leave on loan.
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