Nottingham Forest are back in action at the City Ground this weekend with a big game against Aston Villa.
After a double-header away to the two Manchester clubs, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will be looking forward to being back on home turf. Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Villa (5.30pm kick-off), the fifth-placed Reds are just above their opponents in the Premier League table thanks to their superior goal difference.
Loanee Alex Moreno will be ineligible to feature against his parent club while others are ruled out due to injury. Below is a look at Forest’s current injury state of play.
Danilo
Injury: Broken ankle.
What we know: Just eight minutes into the new Premier League season, Danilo suffered a broken ankle when he landed awkwardly after challenging for the ball in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. He underwent surgery and it was hoped the fact he suffered a clean break would help with his recovery.
He is making good progress in his rehabilitation and took part in a training session at the City Ground ahead of the Ipswich fixture. However, he remains some way off from making his comeback.
What has been said: “Danilo – we are so happy, because he did all of the training session,” Nuno said prior to the match with the Tractor Boys. “You cannot believe the joy that this inspired. To see him and the joy of his teammates at having him around, it was lovely to see.
“There is no way that he will be involved this weekend, he is still a long way away. We played a game and I said to the other players ‘nobody can touch Danilo’. So he looked like he was Maradona. Nobody could touch him so he was running through and scoring.
“Just to have him around was so nice. We missed him so much. All these players are so important. But it is so good to have people like him back around; back with the group and playing football. That smile is contagious.
“Danilo is still far away from a first team return. We have to be patient.”
Ibrahim Sangare
Injury: Hamstring.
What we know: The Reds midfielder underwent surgery on the same day as his teammates were beating Liverpool, on September 14, and was given an expected recovery timescale of at least two months. He sustained the injury prior to the September international break and the severity of it was picked up in tests when he was back at the club after leaving the Ivory Coast camp. Ever since he underwent the operation, Forest have been hopeful he would return to training around Christmas time.
What has been said: “Danilo is closer than Ibrahim, unfortunately for Ibrahim he is going to take a little longer,” Nuno recently said. “His injury is very delicate. Following the surgery he had, we do not want to risk any setback.”
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