Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has confirmed that on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is "still more than a few weeks away" from returning to training.
The United shot-stopper, who joined Forest on a season-long loan deal last summer, is currently sidelined with a muscular injury. Henderson suffered the blow during Forest's 2-0 win over Midlands rivals Leicester City at the City Ground last month.
His injury forced Forest to dip into the January transfer market in pursuit of cover and they made the decision to sign highly experienced goalkeeper Keylor Navas on loan from Paris Saint-Germain for the remainder of the season. He made his debut during Sunday's 1-0 win over Leeds United, producing an excellent display in the process.
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Having won three Champions League titles and four Club World Cups during his career, Navas will expect to start every game between now and the end of the season for Forest, meaning Henderson, whose long-term future at Old Trafford remains undecided, could struggle to reclaim his place once fit again. And that is something Cooper acknowledged in the aftermath of his side's win against Leeds.
"We'll cross that bridge there and then," said Cooper, as quoted by Nottinghamshire Live, addressing the goalkeeper situation. "Dean is progressing fine, but he's still more than a few weeks away from being back in training.
"Unfortunately he's not on his own with that."
At the age of 36, Navas is one of two vastly experienced goalkeepers on Forest's books, alongside fellow 36-year-old Wayne Hennessey, who had been filling in for Henderson ahead of Navas' arrival at the City Ground last week. Henderson, prior to his injury, had produced a catalogue of impressive saves and performances this season, meaning Cooper's goalkeepers are more than playing their part.
"A big part of the staff and my job is to get players feeling the best they can be, in terms of self-worth," added the Forest boss. "Regardless of whether you're Keylor or Wayne, some guys who are a little bit older or some of the young players, you want everybody to feel good about themselves.
"Hopefully he felt good about himself, and then he showed his level. There are definitely games - and we've already seen it with Dean this year - where you need your goalkeeper to have your biggest moments.
"Along with Brennan's [Johnson] goal, that was the case with Keylor. We're grateful to them."
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