Striker Chris Wood is unlikely to return for Nottingham Forest until at least mid-July after undergoing surgery.
The January signing will miss the rest of the season with a thigh injury he picked up while on duty with New Zealand during the international break. It is on his other leg and unrelated to the knock he took against Tottenham Hotspur which left him with a huge lump on his thigh.
With Andre Ayew struggling with a knee problem and Taiwo Awoniyi only recently back in full training from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, losing Wood limits Steve Cooper’s attacking options. And the Reds head coach believes the 31-year-old, who triggered a conditional obligation to buy when he made his third appearance for the club last month, could have made a difference during the Premier League run-in.
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“He's actually had an operation on his thigh,” Cooper said. “It was something that was a really unfortunate situation, at the training ground.
"We got the scans from New Zealand and then made second and third checks, as you do with these things, once he got back. The player was obviously involved in the process, as always, but we had no alternative other than to operate.
"So we're looking at a long period out. It will be middle of pre-season, if we're lucky, not the start. If it all goes well then we're looking at mid-July.
"It is a blow, because you bring players here to make a difference and you want players fighting for positions. I know Chris was really determined to show his worth here. He got his goal against Manchester City and he wanted to build on that.
"As a team, we hadn't created loads of chances for him - not that he had any complaints or anything like that. But when you have somebody who has scored goals in the Premier League before, you want to create chances so they can recreate that. It's a pity we've not been able to do that this season.
"But we'll support him as best we can. He's a very positive guy. It's just an unfortunate situation that does happen in elite sport.
"We'll give him the best recovery. For sure, he'll commit to that 100 percent; having worked with him now for a few months, I can see how professional he is. Hopefully he gets back at the right time."
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