Nottingham Forest have confirmed that Tendayi Darikwa is back after suffering a hamstring injury and could feature against Sheffield United on Saturday. The 27-year-old has been out of action since the end of March, missing games against Rotherham United (April 6), Sheffield Wednesday (April 9) and Blackburn Rovers (April 13), but he should make the squad over the weekend.
Sam Byram has shone at right-back in Darikwa’s stead so he’s unlikely to be dropped for the Zimbabwe international, but Martin O’Neill could include him on the bench. Darikwa has made 31 appearances in all competitions this season, 28 of which have come in the Championship. The Forest defender has made one assist, picked up three bookings and one red card.
He’s racked up 2513 minutes of playing time, made 78 clearances, blocked 12 shots and 13 crosses, won 33 aerial duels (47%), averages 45 passes-per-game with 76% accuracy, has given away a foul every 157 minutes and averages a tackle (49) or interception (53) every 25 minutes.
Forest have little other than pride to play for on Saturday, with the Reds currently sitting 11th in the Championship and eight points adrift of the playoffs with four games remaining.
