Key absence, injury boost - what we spotted in Nottingham Forest training ahead of Aston Villa clash

Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo

Nottingham Forest will hope to benefit from another full week on the training ground when they head to Villa Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has had to contend with a busy fixture list since he was appointed in December. But for the second successive week, the lack of a midweek game has afforded him more time to work with his players.

It paid off for the Reds last weekend as they claimed their first Premier League win of 2024 by beating West Ham United 2-0 at the City Ground. Goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Callum Hudson-Odoi clinched a big victory, while the hosts also recorded their first clean-sheet in the league since November.

Forest will be aiming to build on that result when they make the trip to the West Midlands to face Aston Villa. Ahead of the match, the club posted a video on YouTube showing some of the work done in training. Below is a look at what we spotted…

Awoniyi absence?

The Reds’ footage showed the players being put through their paces at the Nigel Doughty Academy, but we couldn’t spot any sign of Awoniyi.

The striker did seem to suffer a knock against the Hammers and made way in the 67th minute of the match. Afterwards, he insisted he was “fine” and it was a planned substitution. However, Nuno did say he would need to be assessed.

“We have to assess him now,” the Forest boss said post-match. “Let’s see how he is. We all know he is struggling because he was a long time without competition. We push him – more minutes than he should have done. He is working hard. Let’s hope it is nothing serious.”

The Reds have been trying to tread carefully with Awoniyi after his return from groin surgery. But Chris Wood being sidelined means he has played more minutes than perhaps they would have liked at this stage of his comeback.

And while Awoniyi wasn’t featured in the video, he was seen in clips and photographs of Africa Cup of Nations champions Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare being congratulated by the group earlier in the week. Boly, Sangare and fellow AFCON finalist Ola Aina were also missing from the training footage.

Injury boost

Awoniyi might not have been spotted in the video, but defender Gonzalo Montiel was out on the grass. The Argentine has been sidelined with a hamstring problem of late but now seems to be back with his teammates.

Montiel was forced off late on in the FA Cup replay win over Bristol City earlier this month. Nuno recently said he was undergoing treatment but a comeback date was inconclusive.

Having the right-back involved in training will be a welcome boost for Nuno as having almost a full squad at his disposal has been a rarity.

Wood remains out of action due to a hamstring issue. Nevertheless, the return of Boly, Sangare and Aina, plus Montiel, means Nuno’s options should have been bolstered.

Shooting practice

Among the drills featured in the video was a spot of shooting practice. Scoring goals has not been a problem for the Reds under Nuno, and a fair few players looked sharp in training.

You wouldn’t have known the goals didn’t count for anything by the way Nicolas Dominguez celebrated finding the back of the net. The midfielder rolled the ball home and pumped his fists as he turned away.

Perhaps the pick of the efforts was one by Murillo, though. The centre-back has threatened a few times to get on the scoresheet in matches, and he showed what he is capable of with a lovely strike into the top corner from the edge of the area.

Team spirit

Just as it was last season, a sense of unity will be important as Forest look to move away from the bottom end of the table. Arguably, it will be even more vital this time around given the club have the threat of potential sanctions hanging over them after being charged with breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

There was no sign of the talk around the club’s finances or a possible points deduction affecting the players, though. Indeed, there was a clear sense of team spirit on show in the video, with players joking and jostling with each other.

Their bond was also evident in the footage earlier in the week of the group welcoming back Boly and Sangare. The duo got a round of applause and pats on the back from their teammates after their AFCON triumph.

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