Taiwo Awoniyi left Liverpool in 2021 and will hope to make an impact against his former side after scoring his first Premier League goal in a year
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest warms up before the Premier League match between Brentford and Nottingham Forest at Gtech Community Stadium on January 25, 2026 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
Taiwo Awoniyi will hope for minutes against former club Liverpool when they face his side Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.(Image: Getty Images)
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Taiwo Awoniyi is a player who knows what it's like to have the odds stacked against him. Farmed out on a series of loans during his time as a Liverpool player as he struggled to land a British work permit, Awoniyi faced an even greater challenge in 2025 when a life-threatening injury ended his season.
Playing for Nottingham Forest, who he joined a year after sealing his permanent Liverpool exit to Union Berlin, Awoniyi collided with the post when challenging for the ball in the 88th minute of Forest's 2-2 draw with Leicester City on May 11, 2025.
Though the Nigerian striker initially attempted to play on after receiving medical attention, he was later taken to hospital and underwent surgery for a ruptured intestine.
The injury sparked furious debate around the current application of the offside rule, with the assistant referee keeping his flag down to allow the move to play out despite Anthony Elanga clearly being in an offside position when the ball was played to him on the break.
Awoniyi was placed in a medically-induced coma to facilitate the surgery, which has a 9% mortality rate. Fortunately, he made a full recovery and returned to action against Chelsea in October.
Grateful for the care he received, and clearly relieved to be in one piece, Awoniyi shared his thanks on social media upon waking up on May 18.
He wrote: "This season has been one of the most difficult of my career but through it all, I have felt the love. With the grace of God, I am grateful to still be here, to still be fighting, to still be smiling, and to be in good spirits.
"To my teammates, coaches, staff and the entire Forest family, thank you for your well wishes, seeing you all on your visit to the hospital lifted my spirits more than words can say.
"Wishing the boys the very best in these last two games, keep believing and keep pushing. I'm with you all the way and I can't wait to be back out there with the boys doing what I love.
"To my family, friends and football fans, thank you for the support, and to everyone back home in Nigeria who has checked in on me, prayed for me and left kind words, thank you.
"I see them. I feel them. And I carry them with me every day as I recover."
Despite the incredible season Forest enjoyed last term, sitting in the Champions League spots for most of the campaign before slipping to eventual Europa League qualification, Awoniyi had spent most of 2024/25 on the bench while New Zealand striker Chris Wood plundered 20 league goals as part of a remarkable late-career renaissance.
And after two 45-minute outings against Chelsea and Bournemouth on his return from the horror injury that ended his previous campaign, Awoniyi's 32-minute cameo against Wrexham in the FA Cup in January was the longest he has managed on the pitch since October.
Recently-departed manager Sean Dyche left Awoniyi on the bench for six of his last seven Premier League games in charge, including the last three, but the former Liverpool man scored off the bench against Brentford in his sole league outing this year on Jan 25.
Awoniyi was left out of Forest's Europa League squad this season, so missed their thumping 3-0 win against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday.
But with Vitor Pereira the latest to occupy the City Ground hotseat, Awoniyi will be hoping for a change of fortunes and for the opportunity to make his mark against his former club again this weekend.
He missed both the 3-0 and 1-0 Forest victories at Anfield this season and last, but scored the winner at the City Ground in his first game against the Reds in October 2022.
"He's had a sensational development," Jurgen Klopp said in his post-match press conference following the defeat. "He has arrived where he belongs and I am happy for him, but not today so much."
A fiery determination to achieve his goal of playing in the Premier League had defined Awoniyi's six-year stay at Liverpool after joining as an unsigned 18-year-old from Imperial Soccer Academy in Nigeria.
Despite constant setbacks in his pursuit of a work permit, he remained on Liverpool's books, only to find himself out of Klopp's plans when he was finally eligible.
After securing a move to newly-promoted Forest in 2022, Awoniyi reflected on his time under the legendary German manager.
"It was frustrating," Awoniyi said, "Because every summer I'd be in pre-season training at Liverpool waiting to see how it goes with the permit.
"I hadn't played for my national team or in any of Europe's top five leagues. In the end I'd have to go out on loan, but in life I have been in more difficult situations than that.
"I've always believed I would play in the Premier League. It has always been my biggest target as a football player. Even when I was in Liverpool's second team I learned so much.
"The way they set up training, and all the fantastic players around me, made it a learning process. Before I left, he [Klopp] told me that Union Berlin were pushing everything to sign me permanently [after a successful loan spell in 2020-21].
"He said, 'That is the key for a player, the moment a team wants to sign you so much that means you belong there.' That was the last discussion we had and he was right."
It was heartening that Awoniyi took positives from his time as a Liverpool player despite never making his debut. The ten league goals he scored in his first season in the Premier League - even with two months sidelined with a groin injury - suggested a solid top-flight career ahead for the then-25-year-old, and few could begrudge him the key role he had forged for himself in Nottingham.
The groin injury reared its head again in October of the 2023/24 season, however. Awoniyi battled back to come on as a substitute against Liverpool, but only lasted two more games before aggravating the injury, ruling him out until late January.
By the time he returned, Forest had a new manager - with Steve Cooper replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo - and new signing Wood had grabbed five goals, including a hat trick against former club Newcastle United.
Awoniyi replaced Wood, who had picked up a hamstring injury, at halftime in his first game back against Arsenal. He scored a late consolation in the 2-1 home defeat.
But he dropped out of the starting lineup after a 4-2 defeat away at Aston Villa in late February and didn't start another league game until September, with a thigh injury limiting Awoniyi's involvement to just 16 minutes of Premier League action from mid-March until the end of the 2023/24 season.
With just four league starts since that Villa game two years ago, Awoniyi's Forest career looks to have sputtered out as quickly as it started.
Recurring injuries have forced successive managers to manage his minutes with care, and there is no telling what kind of an impact such a horrendous abdominal injury could have had on Awoniyi's physicality and confidence.
But despite new signing Igor Jesus' impressive record in the Europa League, the Brazilian striker - who has been Forest's first choice this season - has flattered to deceive in the Premier League.
Wood, meanwhile, remains ruled out with a long-term knee injury and never played a minute during Dyche's tenure. The Kiwi is now 34, as well, leaving it unclear whether he will be able to return to his clinical best - if at all - this season.
This leaves an opportunity open for Awoniyi. With the 3-0 drubbing of their opponents in Turkiye setting Forest up for Europa League progression, Awoniyi could target more Premier League minutes to keep Jesus fresh for the competition in which he is currently top of the scoring charts.
Getting off the bench against Liverpool would give the former Red the opportunity to score in successive league appearances for the first time since January 2024, and there will be no one in the Forest squad more desperate for the opportunity than Awoniyi.
Speaking after his winner three-and-a-half years ago, Awoniyi said: "To score against Liverpool is a day I will never forget. I will always be grateful to Liverpool for scouting me from Nigeria when I was 18 and scoring against them is amazing.
"I was always looking forward to the game against Liverpool and it was emotional."
He missed the return fixture at Anfield with a muscular problem, but is expected to be fit to feature when the Reds travel to Nottingham on Sunday.
Fellow former Liverpool player Neco Williams is expected to start at left-back, while rumoured Liverpool target Elliot Anderson will feature in the heart of midfield.
With everything he has endured, a Taiwo Awoniyi resurgence would be great to see. But Liverpool supporters won't have any appetite for it to start this weekend.
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