Nottingham Forest will assess their right-back options for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea amid concern over the fitness of Serge Aurier.
The 30-year-old has been described as “touch and go” for the clash at Stamford Bridge. He had been a doubt for Monday night’s victory over Southampton, but got the green light to start at the City Ground.
Aurier then lasted little more than an hour before he was forced off after receiving treatment on the pitch. He was replaced by centre-back Joe Worrall, who had trained in that position prior to the Saints’ visit with a view to potentially filling in for his teammate.
READ MORE: Forest injury update provided ahead of Chelsea showdown
READ MORE: Six Forest players heading for exit in big summer window
With Neco Williams sidelined for the rest of the season due to a fractured jaw, it is an area where the Reds are short of cover. And it could be Worrall is required to step in again this weekend.
“With Neco’s injury, we’ve definitely looked at options of who could play out there,” head coach Steve Cooper said. “Joe went on on Monday, which was something we’d planned for if we needed to make the change. We’d trained like that.
“But that was a plan for that particular game, against Southampton. It doesn’t mean to say that’s always going to be the case, if we have to do something like that again. Different players and different profiles of players do suit different situations.
“We always talk about ‘what ifs’, including player availability - not just if Serge isn’t fit. It could be a number of positions; at this time of the season you always get players who are carrying knocks or are managing fatigue, where it’s possible that not everybody is fit enough to start or to finish games. We won’t be on our own with that.”
How should Forest line up against Chelsea? Have your say in the comments below
READ NEXT
