Boss Steve Cooper says Nottingham Forest have a triple injury doubt for Saturday’s clash with Swansea City.
The Reds are in the hunt for promotion as they go into their final three games of the regular season. At the very least they are guaranteed a play-off place, but they could yet pip Bournemouth to second spot.
Keinan Davis (hamstring) and Max Lowe (groin) were already sidelined, while Lewis Grabban (hamstring) has now been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Tuesday’s victory at Fulham has also taken its toll, with Sam Surridge (groin), Jack Colback (glute) and goalscorer Philip Zinckernagel (kick on the ankle) all with a question mark over their availability for the weekend, having been substituted at Craven Cottage.
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“They are doubtful for the game,” said Cooper. “We’ll have to see how they go, in terms of the weekend. It’s a little bit inconclusive at the moment.
“With the games coming in such quick succession, we’re trying to give everybody as much recovery and rehab time as possible. But there will be a few late shouts on them.”
After the Swans, Forest travel to face the Cherries and then Hull City, with the potential for play-off games to come beyond that. However, they are just three points below Bournemouth, who have the same number of matches to play.
“The more players you can keep available is always a strength, particularly at this part of the season where there’s an accumulation of games, of minutes and of training, with fatigue building up over a period of time,” Cooper added. “But we’re not the only ones. There are other teams with similar schedules to us. You just try to manage it as best you can.
“The more players who are available for selection and in good condition, the better. But if they’re not, you just focus on the lads who are and concentrate on getting ready for the next game.
“With the changes we had to make the other night, the lads who came on contributed really, really well, both with and without the ball. That’s what you want.
“We’ve just had a very good training session. It’s a very hard-working, focused group at the moment.
“The guys who haven’t started so many games are looking as ready and focused as the ones who have. That’s what you want, because you want everyone to be together.
“We’ve had some good examples of lads coming into the team who haven’t played for a while, and lads coming off the bench and contributing. They all stay really focused. All of those things will continue to matter.”
