Steve Cooper gives Brennan Johnson injury update and…

Steve Cooper gives Brennan Johnson injury update and explains Gustavo Scarpa stance

Here’s the latest Nottingham Forest news on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

Newcastle eye Forest duo

Newcastle United are reportedly interested in Nottingham Forest duo Brennan Johnson and Renan Lodi.

Johnson has been a key player in the Reds return to the Premier League with the forward playing every league game for Forest this season, although he picked up an injury against Tottenham on Saturday. The 21-year-old has been in fantastic form having scored seven league goals in 26 appearances during the current campaign.

Brazilian defender Lodi joined Steve Cooper's side on loan in the summer from Atletico Madrid and has also been a mainstay in the Reds eleven. The left-back has played 18 league games for the Reds.

Full story here .

Allardyce delivers Cooper verdict

Former England and Notts County boss Sam Allardyce says Steve Cooper will deserve to be named manager of the season if he keeps Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The Reds are fighting hard to remain out of the bottom three and avoid a quick return to the Championship having been promoted at Wembley last term.

Forest are just two points above the drop zone having posted six wins this season, one of which was a memorable 1-0 victory over Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

But former Newcastle manager Allardyce feels Cooper has done a magnificent job of handling a large dressing room after the club signed 30 players this season, making it a difficult job to keep everybody happy.

Full story here .

Brennan Johnson injury update

Brennan Johnson has “a small chance” of being available for Nottingham Forest’s clash with Newcastle United on Friday night.

The attacker was forced off in the second half of the Reds’ 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, suffering from a groin strain. He has undergone a scan this week and wasn’t involved in an open training session on Tuesday. However, he has been called up by Wales for their upcoming matches, and head coach Steve Cooper is not completely ruling him out of facing the Magpies at the City Ground .

The Reds hope to soon have some of their other injured players back available. Moussa Niakhate (hamstring) was an unused substitute in north London, while Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring) has been involved in training and Ryan Yates (illness) played an hour for the Under-21s on Monday as he builds up his fitness.

Full story here .

Gustavo Scarpa update

Nottingham Forest are giving their "full support" to midfielder Gustavo Scarpa while he handles off-field matters.

The 29-year-old is said to have lost about £1million from investing in a cryptocurrency venture and, according to ESPN Brazil, has filed a lawsuit in Brazil to try to recover the money. He returned to his homeland this week, with the club's permission, to deal with the situation - and head coach Steve Cooper admits it has affected the Brazilian's availability for the Reds.

The last time Scarpa, who is now back in the UK, got out on the pitch was during the 2-0 defeat at Fulham last month. Against Manchester City and West Ham United, he was an unused substitute, while he was not part of the match squad at all against Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

Full story here .

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