We really are getting down to the bare bones when it comes to the first-team right now.
It’s amazing how we can be so thin when it comes to players available despite having an incredibly large squad of players to choose from, but alas here we are. Needing to pick ourselves up after a disappointing game on the weekend, and we have to do it without a number of first-choice players.
Speaking ahead of the game with Cardiff City tonight, Sabri Lamouchi gave an update on the fitness levels of a number of first-team players, and said that he’s unsure precisely when they are going to be able to make a comeback:
“Unfortunately, Sammy Ameobi has a question mark, Samba Sow as well, Lewis Grabban the same. We need to be patient and take the right decision for the single players and for the team. They could be out maybe just for Cardiff, I hope to bring at least one with us to Cardiff, we will see after today’s session. Nuno da Costa will not be available; he is making some specific sessions with the medical department. I hope we will try to recover him before Middlesbrough but I am not sure.”
This game, and indeed the next few weeks depending on the severity of the injuries is going to be a significant and serious test of Lamouchi’s man management and tactical ability.
Can Nottingham Forest still finish in the top two?
Yes
No
We’ve seen he’s struggled whenever he’s gone with a ‘weakened side’, such as the game against Charlton Athletic a few weeks ago, and failing to win all three games that Grabban hasn’t started this season, and if he’s going to be joined on the injury table by a number of other crucial players, then we really are going to be up a creek without a paddle at this rate.
And having come so close to the mountain top only to see us start to tumble with recent results, he’s going to have to pull out all the stops to get us back in contention for a top-two spot. That is of course if you still think that a top-two spot is even possible.
