Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has revealed that defender Steve Cook was missing from the matchday squad at Newcastle United due to injury.
The 31-year-old defender joined the Reds in January, and quickly became a firm fixture at the heart of defence. But he did not feature in Forest's 2-0 defeat at St James' Park on Saturday.
The Reds lost their first game in the Premier League for 23 years after Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson second second half goals to earn the home side all three points. Cooper explained Cook's absence after the match.
READ MORE: Steve Cooper makes honest Nottingham Forest admission after Newcastle defeat
"Cook has picked up a bit of an injury, he picked something up in the preparation. It's still settling down, but hopefully he'll be back in a few days' time," said the Forest boss.
Cooper named six players to make their debuts for Forest in the starting XI, with another two making their debuts off the bench. One of those players was Jesse Lingard, who played the full 90 minutes, and Cooper thought the star signing showed "glimpses" of what he's capable of.
He added: "He showed glimpses of what he can do out there today. There was no problem with the attitude and commitment of the whole team, and we looked OK physically.
"The team worked hard but did not get enough ball to the front three. There were not enough bodies around them when we were able to do so either."
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