Sam Byram is nearing a return for Nottingham Forest after training with the squad this week and embarking upon difficult training sessions. The 25-year-old has been sidelined for the majority of the season with a knee ligament injury but should feature before the campaign comes to a close.
O’Neill said to Nottinghamshire Live: “He is not as far away as I thought he would be when I first came into the club. I thought we might not see him at all this season, but he is doing really well.
“It would be great for us, to have him back. The lad has been afflicted with some really bad injuries. But he has a good old fighting temperament and the training sessions we have done, while not being unbelievably physical, have been difficult. He is doing well.
Byram has made just three appearances in all competitions for Forest since joining on loan from West Ham United – vs Bury (August 14, 2018) in the EFL Cup, Birmingham City (August 25) in the Championship and Newcastle United (August 29) in the EFL Cup.
Forest moved quickly to sign Saidy Janko on loan from FC Porto after Byram’s injury, and the 23-year-old has competed with Tendayi Darikwa for a starting place at right-back this season. With Byram being out of action for the last seven months, the prospect of his return has excited supporters.
The best RB in the league, Sam Byram, is back in training.. great news #nffc
— Grabbxn (@Grabbxn) March 7, 2019
Class player ,hope we sign him permanent ????
— Outlaw Chris (@dimholtroad) March 7, 2019
This sounds good !
— micky Postles (@forestlad60) March 7, 2019
Awesome news, he was quality before his injury.
— Alastair McCleave (@AlastairMcCleav) March 7, 2019
Sam Byram coming back into the team could honestly be the difference between our season fading away and us taking this play off push to the end of the season #NFFC
— Matt Betts (@_MatthewBetts) March 7, 2019
In his absence, Darikwa has made 27 appearances in all competitions (24 in the Championship, two in the EFL Cup, one in the FA Cup) while Janko has racked up 16 appearances (14 in the Championship, one in the EFL Cup, one in the FA Cup).
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