Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa at the City Ground in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night
Nottingham Forest players train ahead of the Europa League semi-final first leg against Aston Villa(Image: PA)
Nottingham Forest appear to have been handed an injury boost ahead of their Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa.
The Reds welcome their Premier League rivals to the City Ground on Thursday night (8pm kick-off) for the first leg of the last-four tie. The return fixture will take place at Villa Park a week later, with a place in next month’s showpiece in Istanbul up for grabs.
Vitor Pereira’s side go into this week’s clash on the back of last Friday’s 5-0 thumping of Sunderland. The only down side to an otherwise memorable night in the north east was defender Jair Cunha being forced off with an injury.
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Head coach Pereira admitted after the game to being “concerned” about the Brazilian. But in a positive sign ahead of the midweek match, Jair joined in training with his teammates this morning (Wednesday).
However, midfielder Ibrahim Sangare and winger Dan Ndoye did not take part in the session. The duo are said to have been doing individual work indoors at the Nigel Doughty Academy.
Jair’s fellow centre-back Murillo was also not part of the group to be put through their paces. The 23-year-old sustained a suspected hamstring problem during the 4-1 triumph over Burnley and had already all-but been ruled out of Thursday’s game.
There was no sign of injured trio winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, full-back Nicolo Savona and goalkeeper John Victor, who have all seen their campaigns come to a premature end. The same applies to Willy Boly, who was recently spotted back on the grass but who was not included in the club’s Europa League or Premier League squads for the second half of the season.
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Spirits were high among the Reds group in the open training session attended by members of the media. The tunes blared out of a loud speaker, as is customary under Pereira in the training session immediately before a match, while the players were all smiles.
Ola Aina could be seen doing a little jig to the music as the players took part in some light-hearted drills before the serious work began. Watching on was club ambassador John McGovern, a man who knows a thing or two about European success. Meanwhile, several academy players took part and looked comfortable among their senior colleagues.
An update on the Forest absentees will be provided when Pereira takes part in his pre-match press conference this afternoon. The Portuguese will be aiming to extend his team’s eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions when Villa arrive Trentside.
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