Chris Wood is ‘improving’ but remains a doubt to face Manchester United as the Premier League resumes tomorrow.
The talismanic Nottingham Forest striker, who was injured on international duty with New Zealand, missed the FA Cup victory over Brighton at the weekend.
Wood was substituted against New Caledonia last week and Nuno Espirito Santo explicitly ruled the 33-year-old out of the quarter-final but he has not been quite so definite about the game with Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils.
"He is improving. He is getting better day by day,” the Portuguese said. "We have to assess him day by day. It is all about him being pain free and then getting back to fitness.”
Nuno admitted he has concerns around other players too, not least Morgan Gibbs-White who collided with a post at the Amex.
Which is to say nothing of the fact the team played 120 minutes and had to go through the emotional wringer of a penalty shoot out.
"Of course we have after we played extra-time. We have to assess them all,” Nuno said.
"We are recovering well. The joy and the happiness of coming through and getting to play at Wembley will give us an extra run for tomorrow, for sure.”
Taiwo Awoniyi took Wood’s place against the Seagulls and played for an hour before being substituted. United will arrive at the City Ground looking to avenge the 3-2 victory the Reds secured in the reverse fixture in early December.
Having started on the bench on Saturday Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi could be in line for a recall.
How should Forest line up against Man United? Click HERE to have your say
Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone
Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.