Nottingham Forest have had their request to reinstate Steve Cook into their 25-man squad turned down.
The Reds submitted an application to the Premier League for Cook to take the place of Willy Boly as they deal with a defensive injury crisis. But that appeal is understood to have not been granted by the governing body.
Cook was left off the squad list for the second half of the season when it was submitted after the January transfer window closed. He has continued to train with his teammates, however, and Forest wanted him reinstated amid a shortage of centre-backs.
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Boly is facing at least three months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem after being forced off with seven minutes gone of last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Fulham. In a double blow for head coach Steve Cooper, he had to substitute both central defenders at the same time, as Scott McKenna went to ground within a few seconds of his teammate and is now expected to be absent for about six weeks.
Moussa Niakhate is back in non-contact training, following his own hamstring injury which has kept him out since August, but is not yet available for selection. That left Joe Worrall and Felipe as the only two fit centre-backs ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manchester City.
Cooper had been confident of securing approval from the Premier League over Cook. He had said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference: "Scott is going to be out for six weeks, more or less, which is a blow. Willy is even worse; we're looking at longer than three months. It's not the news we were hoping for.
“It’s always about the next man up. You have to focus on the players who are available.
“Moussa Niakhate is closer to returning. He’s not back in full training yet, but hopefully that will start next week, which will be a positive step.
“He’s been out for a while and will have to play some games before he’s ready for Premier League action. But he’s not far away now, he’s at the end of his rehab road.
"We have applied, through Premier League rules, to bring Steve Cook back into the 25-man squad. 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.
“I said after we had made the decision on the 25-man squad how fond we are of Cookie and the part that he’s played over his time here, which is not much longer than 12 months. He’s had a very productive 12 months for us.
“We’re all fond of him here, and I’m sure the supporters are as well. He’s been good. He’s been very professional, and with it happening so quickly - only a week or so after the decision - it’s felt pretty normal.
“He’s been pretty positive. A lesser man maybe would have been a bit different than what he has been. We’ve carried on working with him as normal and he has carried on being himself.”
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