Latest Nottingham Forest news as Sean Dyche’s Reds prepare to face Liverpool in crunch Premier League clash
Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi (Image: Getty)
Head coach Sean Dyche has been boosted by positive news on the injury front ahead of Nottingham Forest’s trip to face Liverpool this weekend.
The Reds have had a number of players sidelined of late but many of them are making good progress in their recoveries. However, as it stands, Callum Hudson-Odoi is the only one expected to be involved for Saturday’s trip to Anfield (3pm kick-off) after previously struggling with a knock.
Striker Chris Wood could get the green light to make the trip but is set to have another scan on a knee problem first. Douglas Luiz (hamstring), Oleksandr Zinchenko (groin), Dilane Bakwa (unspecified injury), Angus Gunn (knee) and long-term absentees Ola Aina (hamstring) and Aaron Bott (unknown) are on the mend but remain out of action.
“Callum Hudson-Odoi has made good progress. He’s been on the grass with us this week, so he is certainly in consideration to be in the squad which is better news,” Dyche said in his pre-match press conference.
“Chris Wood is getting re-scanned, so we are checking up on that. But it is good news so far. Being re-scanned is just part of the process, there is nothing untoward about it – it is just a check-up.
“Douglas Luiz is making progress but he is going to be a matter of time; it is not going to be instant. Angus Gunn is still recovering from a knee injury – it is sort of straightforward but is going to take a bit of time.
“Dilane Bakwa is making good progress. He is on the grass but not with us, he is with the medical staff and sport science staff. Ola Aina is very similar.
“Oleksandr Zinchenko is making progress with the sport science team and the physios, not with us. And young keeper Aaron Bott is making progress but is longer term. We have still got a bit of a list.
“Callum is (the only one with a chance of playing on Saturday) at the moment. He is around it.
“If today and tomorrow go well and he feels OK, at least we can think about him being back in the fold. That will be a positive.”
If Wood misses out, Igor Jesus will likely retain his starting spot on Merseyside. Taiwo Awoniyi looked sharp when he came off the bench in the 3-1 win over Leeds United before the international break but he has since sustained a knock.
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Dyche is looking forward to being reunited with Wood when he does return. The pair worked together at Burnley.
“It is just a settling period, it is nothing too serious, it is a grumbling knee,” he explained of the front man’s injury problem. “It is serious enough to stop him from loading it; from loading in daily training, but it is settling down.
“Part of the recovery is to have it re-scanned to see where it is at. He is feeling good in himself, which is always a good sign.
“We are managing to keep his fitness levels up in the gym. It has just taken a bit of a period for the injury to calm down. We hope we are towards the end of that period.
“He has become a fantastic player. He has rounded himself off. He is a very strong professional now. He has done that himself. His pressing and defending from the front – we had to work a lot with him on that. He had Ashley Barnes next to him, who did that brilliantly.
“He has improved that no end, so credit to him for that. He will be a good figure to have back, particularly with his goalscoring ability.
“I thought Taiwo did really well when he came on (against Leeds). Unfortunately he has now picked up a bit of an injury and we will see how that settles down.”
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