Jesse Lingard among eight Nottingham Forest players…

Jesse Lingard among eight Nottingham Forest players who could miss West Ham clash

Nottingham Forest could be without eight players from their 25-man Premier League squad when they take on West Ham United on Saturday.

The Hammers play host to the Tricky Trees in three days hoping to return to winning ways and move out of the relegation, facing Steve Cooper’s side who currently sit 13th and just five points clear of the bottom three.

Going into the trip to the London Stadium, Forest could be without as many as eight of their first-team players registered in their 25-man Premier League squad.

Former Hammers loanee and midfielder Jesse Lingard has not played in any of Forest’s seven Premier League matches, missing the first three with a hamstring injury, being an unused substitute for the next two, then missing the most recent two due to minor issues in his Achilles and knee. Lingard has been pictured back in training, but remains a doubt.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson , on loan from Manchester United, will be absent and is not set to be back in action until late March with a thigh injury.

Another former West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has missed Forest’s last eight Premier League matches with a hamstring injury, rendering it unlikely that he will be involved.

Centre-backs Scott McKenna and Willy Boly will both miss out with hamstring strains suffered simultaneously during the 2-0 defeat to Fulham earlier this month, with both set to be out until mid-May.

Fellow defender Moussa Niakhate has not played since Forest’s 1-0 win over the Hammers in August, missing over six months of action with a hamstring injury. He is back in training, but the game may come too soon for him.

Former Tottenham Hotspur right-back Serge Aurier was forced off during Forest’s draw with Manchester City last Saturday with a knock and could be out of the game. Midfielder Ryan Yates , who missed the game with City with an illness, is also a doubt, but is back in training.

For West Ham, they currently have four injury concerns going into the game. However, winger Maxwel Cornet and centre-back Kurt Zouma have been pictured back training amid respective calf and thigh issues.

Top scorer Jarrod Bowen suffered a knock late on during Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, while midfielder Lucas Paqueta missed the game with a shoulder injury.

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