Despite a late fitness test confirming five outs, Newcastle United’s management is ‘pleased’ with the injury setback suffered against Nottingham Forest. A preview of Nuno Espirito Santo’s injuries has been released ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match.
Nottingham Forest’s Premier League match against Newcastle United on Saturday (5:30pm kickoff) will feature an injury doubt in addition to many key players missing.
Gonzalo Montiel, who was taken off in the dying minutes of normal time during Forest’s victory against Bristol City in the FA Cup fourth round penalty shootout midweek, will not be available for the match. Morgan Gibbs-White, a midfielder, had a knock during the match and will have a late fitness test.
“[Gibbs-White] had some pain and discomfort,” Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo stated at the team’s pregame press conference. We still need to evaluate him.
“We have some knocks and some situations that cause problems. We have Gonzalo out, he is not going to be involved tomorrow, and some players have issues that we still have to assess.
“Gonzalo felt something in his hamstring on a run in the last minutes before we took him off. He felt some discomfort. He will have the scan at 7pm today. He is not available for tomorrow, but we will have to wait and see.”
owing to the African Cup of Nations, Forest is also without Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare, and Willy Boly. Additionally, former Newcastle striker Chris Wood will miss the match on Saturday night owing to a have.
The previous time the two teams faced off, Wood returned to haunt Newcastle, scoring a hat-trick in Forest’s 3-1 victory at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe, the manager of the Magpies, acknowledged that he is “pleased” that Wood will not be facing him at the City Ground. “Chris on the day did very, very well and it was no surprise for us because we know his quality,” added Howe. “He was a brilliant signing for us and helped keep us in the division when we were in a difficult situation but we’ll be pleased [he’s not available].”
Newcastle has a number of injury concerns going into the match. Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon are out due to groin and ankle problems, respectively. In addition, Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson are out due to ongoing recuperation, and former Nottingham Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles is questionable due to a calf strain.
