Steve Cooper provides fresh injury update on 34-year-old Nottingham Forest player
Steve Cooper has provided a fresh injury update on Nottingham Forest defender Felipe.
The 34-year-old Brazilian hasn’t featured at all this season, due to an ongoing knee issue but there still remains no timescale on his return to action.
Felipe was phenomenal for the Reds last season, however, his injury struggles coupled with his age have made it hard for the former Atletico Madrid man to recover.
Boss Cooper admitted during his press conference yesterday, that Felipe’s injury was an ‘ongoing situation’ that the club are trying to manage.
Ahead of Sunday’s Premier League encounter with Brentford, Cooper told the media that the Brazilian suffered a setback in his progress last weekend.
“Felipe is an ongoing situation with his knee so it’s something that we’re trying to manage carefully.
“We’re trying to support him in the best way possible to give him the best chance possible of being back involved with the team.
“He missed last week because it [his knee] flared up a bit and like I said it’s a daily management situation with him.”
Frustrating period for Felipe
Coming off the back of such a consistent season last campaign, the Brazilian would’ve wanted to hit the ground running to help the Reds build on the 16th-place finish they achieved.
However, he’s had to sit out every game, something which no player wants to do.
He’s a great professional, with a great attitude – so hopefully the 34-year-old can return as soon as possible without aggravating the current issue with his knee.
‘Not far away’: Steve Cooper says 23-year-old could feature for Nottingham Forest on Sunday
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has provided an injury update on loanee Nuno Tavares.
The 23-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from Arsenal, limped off during the 2-0 defeat away at Manchester City last weekend.
Tavares was substituted and replaced by Gonzalo Montiel with a suspected groin problem, however, at his pre-match press conference boss Cooper admitted the injury wasn’t as serious as first feared.
Cooper also went on to say that the defender is not far away from featuring, not ruling out a return against Brentford tomorrow afternoon.
Steve Cooper on Nuno Tavares’ fitness
Speaking at his press conference yesterday, boss Cooper provided a key update on the Portuguese defender’s fitness.
“Nuno [Tavares] came off during the Manchester City game, but fortunately it’s not what we thought it might have been.
“It’s not a serious injury so that’s good news.
“Hopefully, he’s not far away – apart from that we’re okay on the injury front.”
A potential switch to a back four?
During Forest’s last home outing against Burnley, Cooper switched to a back four to be more attacking and direct, causing more problems for the opposition.
With Nuno potentially not 100% but fit enough to make the squad, we could see Ola Aina return to left-back, with Serge Aurier at right-back and two centre-backs instead of the three we saw at the Etihad last weekend.
