Nottingham Forest will have to make a daily assessment on the fitness of striker Chris Wood.
The 33-year-old was ruled out of Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final win over Brighton and Hove Albion due to a hip problem. And head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted there is a question mark over whether he will be available for Tuesday night's Premier League clash at home to Manchester United (8pm kick-off).
Wood sustained the injury while on international duty for New Zealand on Monday. He landed awkwardly and hurt his hip and ribs when swivelling for a shot during the All White’s World Cup qualifier victory over New Caledonia.
The front man underwent a scan before he departed for the UK, and he had another one upon his return Trentside. But he is still in a lot of pain, according to Nuno.
"Not good,” the Reds boss said when providing an update on Wood. “Let's wait and see. It is going to be day by day we have to assess him.
"It is all about the pain he has. It was a big impact on his hip and it is very painful.
"We have to assess him. We are gutted that Chris is not here with us.”
Asked about Wood’s availability for Tuesday, Nuno replied: "I cannot answer that. I don't know, I'm not sure. It is going to be day by day.”
Being without Wood for any length of time would be a huge blow for Forest as they approach the season's run-in. He has been in sensational form this term and is the team’s top scorer in the Premier League.
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The Reds came through without him on Saturday, though, courtesy of success in a penalty shootout at the Amex Stadium. The tie had finished 0-0 after extra-time but the visitors triumphed 4-3 on spot-kicks to book their spot in the Wembley semi-finals.
Nuno had substituted Morgan Gibbs-White moments before the game went to penalties. Although the attacker has proved himself from the spot before, he was struggling with a knock after colliding with the post.
"We are going to assess him. He had a big contact against the post. His leg was not OK and he was struggling,” Nuno said.
"In the final minutes, you saw we were suffering. We were on the ropes, so we decided to turn to Morato to see if we could hold on for penalties.”
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