Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Santos has confirmed that Taiwo Awoniyi is facing a new injury challenge, although he remains hopeful the player will remain fit for the upcoming season.

Awoniyi, who struggled with various injuries last season, was absent from the team’s 3-0 victory over Chesterfield on Saturday.

The Nigerian had appeared to be in good shape during pre-season until this recent setback.

“He [Awoniyi] had a problem in the first training session of the week. Let’s see how long it takes,” Santos told the Nottingham Post.

“It was something in his calf. Unfortunately, not [available] for today. Hopefully, he doesn’t miss too much of pre-season. For all of them, it [pre-season] is important, and more so for Taiwo.”

Since joining Nottingham Forest from Union Berlin two years ago, Awoniyi has missed 35 out of 76 possible games due to injuries.