Nottingham Forest winger Alex Mighten has taken a step forward in his recovery from a knee injury.
The teenager has been out of action since the middle of December, when he was forced off not long after being brought off the bench in a 2-1 victory over Hull City.
Mighten has now returned to training with his teammates, but is not expected to be in contention for tomorrow’s clash at home to Stoke City.
It leaves Lewis Grabban as the Reds’ sole absentee, with the front man sidelined for two months after injuring his ankle against Cardiff City last month.
“We had a few bumps and bruises, but nothing which is going to change the availability for the weekend,” head coach Steve Cooper said, on the back of Wednesday night’s 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers.
“Alex Mighten has started training with us, so that’s really pleasing, but tomorrow probably comes too soon.
“There’s only Lewis now who is injured, and that’s a bit of a longer-term one because he only did it a couple of weeks ago.
“The training ground is very vibrant. There’s a very enthusiastic set of lads at the moment, and hopefully that is the case tomorrow as well.”
Joe Lolley was on the bench for the FA Cup rout over Leicester City at the weekend, following his own knee troubles.
Meanwhile, Forest also have January signings Richie Laryea and Jonathan Panzo who have yet to make their debuts for the club.
The easing of numbers in the treatment room makes for plenty of decisions for Cooper as his team look to maintain their position in the Championship’s top six.
“It does give you options,” said the Reds boss.
“I wouldn't say everyone is at the same level, in terms of match readiness.
“I know a couple of the lads have maybe surprisingly turned up on the bench, but it was the FA Cup so we had nine subs and there was more opportunity for that.
“There’s some lads who have returned who are maybe not quite ready to start games, but they might be okay if they are needed on the bench.
“They are the sort of problems you want as a manager, you want to be making tough decisions for starting XIs. And even tough decisions to see who goes on to the bench as well - there’s a bit of strategy which needs to go into that as well, thinking about covering certain positions, but also what might be needed in certain games if you need to change things.
“They are nice headaches to have.”
