Nottingham Forest appear to have been handed an encouraging injury boost during the international break.
Summer signing Omar Richards has yet to make his debut in the Garibaldi, having been sidelined since pre-season with a hairline fracture of the leg. But it seems the 24-year-old has taken a significant step in his recovery.
The club posted a couple of pictures of the defender in his training gear on the grass, complete with broad smile, on social media. And although still early days, that will be seen as a positive sign for Steve Cooper’s side as they aim to bounce back from a tough start to their Premier League campaign.
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Grabban's wish
Former Nottingham Forest captain Lewis Grabban claims that head coach Steve Cooper 'wanted' the skipper to stay at the club for this season following Premier League promotion.
Back in mid-July, it was made clear in a statement that the 34-year-old had 'confirmed his departure' after his Reds contract had expired at the end of June. The 34-year-old had been in talks over a contract extension to stay at the City Ground but eventually ended a four-year association with the club and has since signed for Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli.
Grabban missed the latter stages of last season, including the play-offs, with a hamstring injury but more than contributed to the Premier League promotion campaign with 12 goals in the Championship. The striker was, though, fit enough to scale the Wembley Stadium steps to lift and has admitted that what the future held was on his mind at that moment.
“As we celebrated at Wembley, my full intention was to sort something out. I wanted to have another crack at the Premier League with Forest,” Grabban told The Athletic .
Spence's situation
Former Nottingham Forest defender Alan Hutton has predicted an early Tottenham exit for Djed Spence after struggling to break into Antonio Conte's side.
Spence, 22, joined the north London side in the summer for £20 million from Middlesbrough after playing a starring role in Forest's promotion to the Premier League last campaign. He appeared 46 times in total for Steve Cooper's side, scoring three goals and assisting a further five.
However, since joining Spurs, Spence has managed only one minute of action. He came on in injury-time against Forest in the 2-0 victory at the City Ground. He has also been left out of Conte's 20-man squad on four occasions.
Spence has fierce competition at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at right wing-back. Emerson Royal and fellow summer signing Ivan Perisic have both been preferred by Conte in the opening seven games of the season. Matt Doherty is also at the club, although the former Wolves man has not featured in the league since the opening day.
Niakhate's call
Nottingham Forest defender Moussa Niakhate says a phone call from Sadio Mane convinced him to represent Sengal.
The Reds centre-back had turned out for France at youth level, but this international break saw him called up by the Lions for the first time. However, it remains to be seen whether he gets on the pitch in upcoming friendlies against Bolivia and Iran.
Niakhate has been sidelined with a hamstring problem since the Reds’ victory over West Ham United last month. He trained away from the main group of the Senegal squad on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old did face the local media in a pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game. And he recalled a conversation he had with countryman and Bayern Munich ace Mane.
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