Season-ending surgery won't stop Dean Henderson from showing the same level of commitment to Nottingham Forest as he has throughout his time on loan.
The Manchester United goalkeeper's campaign is over after he had an operation earlier this week on a thigh injury which has sidelined him since January. But that is unlikely to stop him from continuing to support his Reds teammates as they try to secure Premier League survival.
Henderson is as popular among the squad as he is with Forest fans. Head coach Steve Cooper is uncertain whether he will do his rehabilitation work at his parent club or at the Nigel Doughty Academy, but he expects to see the 26-year-old on match days at least.
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Since he made the move Trentside last summer, the shot-stopper has very much bought into the club. That he went out of his way to link up with the group ahead of last weekend's clash at Brentford is testament to that.
"I don’t know where he will do his rehab. It’s still very soon after surgery, days in fact," Cooper said.
“There’s two different things, there's what he needs to do from a medical point of view. But I'm sure we'll see Dean, certainly on match days. He's really bought into and invested into the club, including with living here for the length of his loan.
"You have to respect that he’s a Man United player, and after the initial surgery they can be important days. But he’ll want to be with us, and he will be.
“For example, he had to see a consultant before we played Brentford, then he made his own way down to London on Friday, came to the team hotel and then travelled - in match tracksuit - to the game and was as loud as ever in the dressing room and was as disappointed as everyone else after the game, and he was back on the team coach. He didn’t have to do that, but he wanted to do it.
“I'm sure that sort of thing, as long as he is allowed to with how he is physically and it fits in with the programme as agreed with United, he will do things like that. That’s the type of guy he’s been for us."
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