Nottingham Forest’s miserable afternoon in north London was compounded by more injury woe, as well as defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Before the Premier League clash had even kicked off, the Reds had to make a change to their match squad. Back-up goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey suffered a knee problem during preparations for the game, meaning youngster George Shelvey was called up to the bench.
And then both Brennan Johnson and Chris Wood were forced off in the second half of the 3-1 loss. The latter had to make way just six minutes after entering the fray.
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“Wayne felt his knee, so he wasn’t able to go on the bench," said head coach Steve Cooper. "Brennan has come off with a groin strain; we don't know how bad it is yet, we'll see how he is in the next day or two.
"He has been a really important player for us, but we'll see how he is. Let's see when it settles down, see what the scan says, and fingers crossed it's not as severe as these injuries can be.
"Woody was just so unfortunate. He goes on, and in his first moment in the game he gets a really bad knock to his thigh which really swells up instantly like you wouldn't believe.
"He tried to carry on with it, but it was just impossible. When he came to the halfway line and I saw it, I knew he wouldn't be able to carry on, even though he tried. That was really unfortunate.
"It didn't help. But at the same time, the first half performance is really the defining phase of the game."
Forest have had rotten luck with injuries this season. Moussa Niakhate was an unused substitute, having been absent since August with a hamstring issue, but Cheikhou Kouyate, Scott McKenna, Willy Boly, Dean Henderson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone all remain sidelined.
A first-half Harry Kane brace left Cooper’s side with a mountain to climb at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They improved in the second half, but Son Heung-Min wrapped up the points for the hosts, with Joe Worrall’s header little more than a consolation for the visitors.
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