Steve Cooper says he wouldn't have done anything differently regarding Brennan Johnson's injury situation after the striker was unavailable to feature for Wales during the recent international break.
Johnson was struggling with a groin problem earlier this month, and Cooper hinted that the forward could face a spell on the sidelines.
However, just days after that admission from the former Swansea City boss, Johnson played the full 90 minutes for Forest in their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United at The City Ground.
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The 21-year-old was subsequently unavailable for Wales' opening two Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia, and Rob Page was less than impressed with Forest's handling of the matter.
"First and foremost I feel for Brennan," said Page ahead of Wales' 1-1 draw with Croatia in Split. "He wants to play international football like everybody else. As we know, playing for your country is something very special, it shouldn't be taken for granted, by anyone."
He went on to add: “Where I should have been a little bit stronger is with getting him through the door on Sunday to assess him. It's been frustrating, but I've got to pick a team now and focus on other players."
But ahead of Forest's return to Premier League action against Wolves, Cooper said there was nothing untoward with the way Johnson's injury was handled.
“It was a straightforward normal situation," he said. "They could have assessed him because they have that right in an international FIFA window.
“The international team can assess a player, that is absolutely their right. It was a normal situation.
“Unfortunately he picked something up at Newcastle, as the scan showed which we shared with Wales a day or two days after the game because we played on the Friday. The scan showed he was injured.
"It is no more complex than that really. He wouldn’t have played for us in the last period and unfortunately he wasn’t able to play for Wales."
And when asked if he had spoken with Page, Cooper responded: “Not with me no. The medical team were very transparent, both teams by all accounts really clear with good mutual communication.
“It was a very normal straightforward situation. The player who got injured couldn’t play and if it happened again, we wouldn’t do anything different in terms of what we did. We have not lost any sleep over it apart from trying to get Brennan fit.”
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