Nottingham Forest striker, Taiwo Awoniyi was absent from the matchday squad in their 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa, having picked up an injury in their previous Premier League fixture.
The Super Eagles forward played a pivotal role in Forest’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at the City Ground, where he started and was substituted in the 86th minute.
While his exit initially appeared precautionary, it has since been confirmed that the issue was more serious than first thought, ruling him out of the trip to Villa Park.
The injury is a frustrating setback for Awoniyi, who had only recently returned to the starting lineup after spending time on the sidelines earlier in the season.
The 27-year-old seemed to be regaining rhythm and confidence, and his performance against United showed signs of the explosive forward Forest have missed.
With Awoniyi sidelined, Forest’s attacking options were further depleted, especially with fellow striker Chris Wood also unavailable.
Their limited firepower was evident at Villa Park, where goals from Rogers and Malen gave Aston Villa a 2-0 lead before Jota Silva pulled one back for the visitors.
Despite the late push, Forest couldn’t salvage a point as the match ended 2-1.
The defeat keeps Nottingham Forest in third place on the table, but they’ll be concerned about their squad depth as the season intensifies.
Villa’s victory, meanwhile, moved them to within just one point of Chelsea in fourth, keeping the race for European spots wide open.
Adding to Forest’s injury woes, another Nigerian international, Ola Aina, was also ruled out. The versatile defender suffered a calf injury during the first half of the win against Manchester United.
So far this season, Awoniyi has made 23 appearances for Nottingham Forest, contributing one goal.
