Latest Nottingham Forest news as Sean Dyche's Reds beat Utrecht 2-1 in Europa League clash in the Netherlands
05:00, 12 Dec 2025
Douglas Luiz shakes hands with Sean Dyche as Nicolas Dominguez looks on after Nottingham Forest's win over Utrecht
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Douglas Luiz shakes hands with Sean Dyche as Nicolas Dominguez looks on after Nottingham Forest's win over Utrecht(Image: Getty)
Head coach Sean Dyche has emphasised the importance of his squad as Nottingham Forest continue to have a significant injury list.
Midfielder Douglas Luiz and full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko made their comebacks from lengthy absences on Thursday night as the Reds beat Utrecht 2-1 in the Europa League. Centre-back Murillo was also in the starting XI after missing the previous three games through a hamstring issue and then illness.
Additionally, winger Dilane Bakwa was on the bench in a sign Forest’s numbers are starting to pick up. However, strikers Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi remain out along with full-back Ola Aina, while midfielder Ryan Yates is now facing a spell on the sidelines.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels did not travel to the Netherlands for the midweek clash but it is hoped he will be fit to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. For Dyche, though, it is about making sure every player is ready to go when called upon.
"I'm pleased for so many individuals," he said after victory at the Stadion Galgenwaard. "Douglas Luiz has trained for only two days. I don't normally like doing that, but he spoke to me and said he felt fine. He wanted to play.
"Zinny (Zinchenko) has done amazing to get through the 90 minutes. That wasn't the plan, but we can only make so many changes.
"We had Murillo back after a week of being ill. We had to be careful with him.
"It was a tough one to make the right calls on who plays and who doesn't, and how many minutes they get. But in the end, it worked out so I'm really pleased with that.
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"We had some really key performances and some really key moments. I thought (Nicolas) Dominguez was excellent as well, I must say. I thought overall we deserved the win."
Having so many injuries to contend with has not helped Forest's challenge of coping with the addition of European games this season. Dyche has not always been able to share the minutes around as much as he might have liked.
"It's been tough on the club with the amount of injuries - from before my time and then we have had some while I have been here," he added. "Some very important players have been injured.
"It is hard to take. We are trying to manage the group as best we can.
"It is a squad mentality now, because of all the games. I explained that after the game, and am very pleased with that side of it.
"People are playing hard and are playing the right way to go win games, so I’m really pleased with that. We are going to have to have that going forwards."
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