Latest Nottingham Forest news as Sean Dyche’s Reds prepare to face Sturm Graz in Europa League clash
19:13, 05 Nov 2025Updated 19:20, 05 Nov 2025
Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi will miss the Sturm Graz clash(Image: Getty)
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche has a significant absentee list to contend with for Thursday night’s Europa League clash away to Sturm Graz.
Chris Wood, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Dilane Bakwa, Angus Gunn and long-term absentee Ola Aina have all been sidelined of late. And to add to the Reds’ woes, Douglas Luiz and Callum Hudson-Odoi both sustained injuries during Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
Midfielder Luiz has not long since returned from a hamstring problem but appeared to have suffered a recurrence of the issue when he was forced off in the 14th minute against United. Hudson-Odoi suffered a suspected dead leg late on in the game but has been ruled out of the midweek match in Austria (5.45pm kick-off). With Igor Jesus suspended and the likes of Omari Hutchinson, Taiwo Awoniyi and Jair Cunha not included in the Europa League squad, it leaves Forest short on numbers.
“Douglas Luiz is going to receive treatment. That is not likely to be a quick situation; we are waiting on more news,” Dyche said in his pre-match press conference.
“Callum is hopefully going to be slightly easier. He won’t be for this game, but we will see how it goes for the weekend.
“The international break is going to be important for a few players, to give them more of a chance to get fit. Woody is making good progress.
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Nottingham Forest continue their UEFA Europa League campaign as they face Sturm Graz on November 6. Fans can watch the game on the TNT Sports Prime Video channel.
“We are without 11, I think – not just injuries but also some of the lads who couldn’t make this squad list. We’ve got to do well in this game and of course the next one, but then the international break will be very helpful to give players time to recover from their injuries.”
To add to Dyche’s challenge when it comes to team selection, he has a huge Premier League game on Sunday to take into account. The Reds host newly-promoted Leeds United in their final game before the international break.
“The games are big games for different reasons,” Dyche said. “This (the Europa League) means a lot to the club, the history of the club and the fans. We are certainly taking it seriously.
“But we have to look at the next game as well because it is very, very important. The Premier League is your bread and butter at the end of the day. It is the thing the club was striving for for all those years to get back into.
“It has been a very tough period to sustain what they did last year, that’s quite obvious. It’s about correcting that. We have had good signs, performance wise. But we have got to turn that into wins.
“But we are thin on numbers, so it’s a risk and reward – playing players in both games, but some players are going to need to play certain segments of both. We will have to wait and see how we can manage it the best we can, depending on the scoreline and everything. They are both big games for different reasons.”
A number of academy players have travelled to Austria with the first-team squad. And as was the case against Porto last time out in the competition, Dyche will likely name several as substitutes.
“I’ve never tried to do anything other than fill the bench. I think it’s great experience for the young players,” he said.
“But they do have to be realistic. We have got to make sure they can handle what it is; handle being around the first-team here and what might come.
“We don’t just bring kids where it is so far off for them in their own maturing as a player. But the ones who are around the squad and have been doing well in the Under-23s, then we certainly want to get them involved.
“A number have travelled with us this time. They are not travelling for any other reason than we need them. We haven’t got the fit bodies with us, so therefore we are using every resource we have got.”
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