Lewis Grabban has been ruled out of Nottingham Forest’s trip to face Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, but Martin O’Neill is hoping the striker will return at the end of the month or in early-April. Grabban has been out of action since mid-February with an ankle injury but could be back in time to face Swansea City on March 30 or Rotherham United on April 6.
O’Neill said to Nottinghamshire Live: “He has got onto the grass now, which is good. I think we should be able to see him after the break. He has been out some time now.” Grabban was rumoured to have been in a dispute with Forest over the best course of treatment for his injury, but he played down the reports on social media.
The 31-year-old will be itching to return, having scored 15 goals in 31 games since his move from Bournemouth last summer. Grabban’s absence has led to O’Neill tinkering with Forest’s attack each week and he can’t make up his mind on who should lead the line between Leo Bonatini, Karim Ansarifard and Daryl Murphy.
Forest can’t afford any slip-ups on Saturday, having lost two of their last three games in the Championship. Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa put a big dent to their promotion hopes, but a win over Ipswich will see them still in the mix with eight games remaining.
