Taiwo Awoniyi has revealed the full extent of his struggles this season after the Nottingham Forest striker missed over two months of the season through injury.
The 25-year-old arrived at the City Ground last summer from Union Berlin in what was reportedly at the time a club record £17 million deal. Awoniyi got off to the perfect start in a Reds shirt after scoring Forest's first Premier League goal of the season in a 1-0 win over West Ham back in August.
But the Nigerian picked up a groin injury in January which saw him out of action before he returned in the fixture against Wolves at the beginning of the month.
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And the forward has revealed the impact of his injury struggles which have prevented him from hitting top form for the Reds.
He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Football is what you love doing. Injuries are part of the game and once you find yourself missing out, you get upset sometimes. You just have to work hard and get back to fitness.
"Some injuries just take a while, like the one I had. The most important thing is to listen to the medical staff because they have the best idea and they know the best thing to do for your body."
Awoniyi has also spoken about the Reds' hopes of remaining in the top flight as they currently sit in the bottom three on goal difference. He added: "The goal is to believe in ourselves and believe in what we're doing. The fans have been brilliant for us, we need them to keep the support and keep the belief.
"We'll do everything in our power that we can and this is what we are here for - to stay in the Premier League. We are not here to go down. We just have to look into ourselves and get better at our games, which is the most important thing."
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