Defender Murillo has admitted he was close to coming off with an ankle injury at half-time of Nottingham Forest’s win over West Ham United on Sunday.
In the final minutes of the first half at the London Stadium, the Brazilian appeared to hurt himself when he went up for an attacking corner. He clutched his ankle and required treatment on the pitch before gingerly getting to his feet.
Murillo needed support from the Reds’ medical staff as he hobbled off to the side. Once the whistle had blown for the break, struggling to walk, the centre-back was then driven off on a medical cart and appeared to be in discomfort.
Fellow centre-back Morato warmed up during the interval and was ready to come on for the second half. However, Murillo - to the surprise of many watching on - reappeared and played the rest of the game as Forest kept their Champions League dream alive with a 2-1 victory.
Asked how he had recovered so quickly, Murillo joked to Sky Sports: "It's a secret! No, just kidding.”
The 22-year-old, who had missed the 2-2 draw with Leicester City a week earlier due to a hamstring problem, added: "Initially I heard the pop in my ankle and told the doctors I couldn't go on. But luckily we were close to half-time so they were able to analyse the situation calmly throughout half-time.
"I spoke to the doctors and said, OK, if I don't feel anything in the first 10 minutes (of the second half), then it's OK, I'll carry on playing. In the end, I was OK and the ankle is fine as well.”
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said of Murillo in his post-match press conference:“Since the beginning, he was struggling. You could see it. But he made an effort and hopefully he is going to be available for the next one. Now it is about recovering our players and preparing.”
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The visitors triumphed in the capital thanks to goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic. Nuno’s seventh-placed side are just one point outside of the Champions League places with one more game to play. They host top-five rivals Chelsea at the City Ground on Sunday (4pm kick-off).
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