Nottingham Forest’s Manager Steve Cooper, stated that Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury situation is intricate and needs careful management.

Awoniyi made his comeback from a groin injury at Anfield last weekend and was involved in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

Although his return provided a boost for Nottingham Forest, especially as players like Divock Origi, Chris Wood, and Callum Hudson-Odoi are unavailable due to injury, Cooper believes the player has to be properly managed.

“Taiwo is a player we have to manage,” nottinghampost.com quoted Cooper as saying.

Awoniyi is expected to be included in Nigeria’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but his coach unsure, if the player will take part in the matches.

“He’s in a bit of a complex situation with his injury. It’s an ongoing one and it will be for a little while. It’s frustrating for him more than anyone else. He was doing so well and this has really held him back.

“It’s not as simple as he’s back training and he’s fully fit. It is something that is going to be a managing process for a little bit of time now. We’ll see if he’s available for the weekend but it could go either way.

“It is something we will have to take day by day. He has good support around him, in terms of the medical staff we have and hopefully he will be able to play more often than not.

“The question of ​international duty is a question for next week At the moment we are just focusing on what we might be able to get out of him this weekend.”

Nigeria will start their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe later this month.