There is no getting away from the massive impact injuries have had on Nottingham Forest’s survival bid.
Head coach Steve Cooper delivering more bad news on that front has become a familiar theme of the Welshman’s press conferences. After defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, he outlined how Renan Lodi and Gustavo Scarpa had been added to the absentee list, while Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate had both limped off with hamstring problems during the game.
The options available to Cooper in recent weeks have been limited. A team which had started to find a bit of momentum after the World Cup break has been missing a number of key players.
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That one of them could soon (hopefully) be back will, however, present the manager with a dilemma. And how he negotiates it could have a big say in how the rest of the season pans out.
Dean Henderson is edging closer to a return, with the hope he would be back in training this week. It might still take him some time before he is back in contention, and given what happened with Niakhate and Kouyate soon after their comebacks the Reds will not want to take any risks.
But when the Manchester United loanee is fully fit, Cooper faces a big decision. Does he bring Henderson straight back in or does he stick with Keylor Navas?
It’s not an easy choice to make. Goalkeepers have the potential to be decisive in predicaments such as the one Forest are in.
Henderson had done well in the first part of the season, before a thigh problem stopped him in his tracks. He was part of a side which had begun to develop some cohesion as the campaign went on.
He is no doubt eager to get back out on the pitch. At home games, he can be seen watching from the sidelines; he was out of his seat running down the touchline against Wolverhampton Wanderers, urging Emmanuel Dennis on as he raced up the pitch.
Navas has generally held his own, too, though. His error for Leeds United’s equaliser last week proved a turning point in the game at Elland Road. But it shouldn’t be forgotten how he was man of the match in the reverse fixture against the Whites on his debut back in February.
Cooper tends to favour consistency in team selection, when he can, to try to help build momentum. Given he has had to chop and change elsewhere on the pitch due to the injury list, will he want to do the same with his goalkeeper? Is it best to keep Navas in to help with that? Or did Henderson do enough earlier in the campaign to warrant getting the shirt straight back?
The relegation battle is still a tight one. The margins are particularly fine. Cooper’s team selections have come under scrutiny amid the Reds’ recent form. Henderson could soon give him another big call to make.
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