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Nottingham Forest midfielder ‘back in contention’ to face Stoke after returning to training

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Martin O’Neill says Matty Cash is “back in contention” for Nottingham Forest after his recent return to training. The 21-year-old has been out of action for three weeks with an achilles injury, forcing him to miss the Reds’ last three Championship games, but he could return against Stoke City on Saturday.

Cash has made 32 appearances in all competitions this season, the last of which came against Brentford on February 9. He was withdrawn after 70 minutes at the City Ground and hasn’t featured since. The midfielder is nearing a recovery, however, with O’Neill revealing he’s back training and is “feeling fine”.

The Forest manager said to Nottinghamshire Live: “Matty trained over the last two days, but has not done too much. He is back in contention now, which is good. He has not trained, really, up until last Saturday – and we did not do a great deal on Saturday. He is feeling fine, Matty. He is putting himself back in contention again.”

Prior to his injury, Cash was a regular in the starting eleven. He’s featured in 27 of Forest’s 34 league games this season and has scored six goals. The Reds are enjoying an upturn in form, however, which could see Cash fall down the pecking order when he is fit and available for selection.

O’Neill has preferred Ryan Yates, Ben Watson and Jack Colback in a three-man midfield, with Ben Osborn and Joe Lolley operating on the wing. It’s hard to see Cash dethroning Lolley from the side as a result, so he may have to be patient for opportunities.

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