Forest issue four injury updates amid Spurs relegation battle | Football | Sport
Nottingham Forest have revealed why Matz Sels, Elliot Anderson, Ola Aina and Omari Hutchinson were all absent from open training amid fitness worries. The Forest squad were holding their latest session at the City Ground in front of supporters, yet a crucial quartet were nowhere to be seen.
Prior to training, an official club statement confirmed: “Matz Sels and Elliot Anderson are resting following their recent international commitments, while Ola Aina and Omari Hutchinson are continuing with individual training programmes and will not be present with the group today.”
All four players featured in the starting line-up that defeated Tottenham before the international break and are widely expected to return to action over the coming week. In the meantime, their individual workloads are being carefully managed, with Forest facing four fixtures in just 10 days, beginning with a Europa League quarter-final first leg away at Porto next Thursday.
Three successive home matches follow that encounter, with the second leg sandwiched between fixtures against Aston Villa and Burnley. Relegation rivals West Ham United also face a congested fixture list as they gear up for an FA Cup quarter-final against Leeds United on Sunday before returning to Premier League duty against Wolves.
Tottenham’s sole attention is fixed on their trip to Sunderland next weekend, with newly appointed head coach Roberto De Zerbi taking charge of his first training session on Friday. Several key players were absent from the training pitch as a number continue to battle back from injury, with Pape Sarr the latest to pick up a problem.
Mathys Tel was present at Hotspur Way, however, despite having limped off against Forest with a knock that ruled him out of France under-21 duty. By all accounts, it was an intense session led by De Zerbi, with cameras also capturing snippets of his instructions, offering a glimpse into the ideas he is looking to instil.
During a rondo drill, he said: “One or two touch. With two touch it is impossible to lose the ball because we are five to pass against two. Enjoy, enjoy but you have to move. Enjoy with the ball. A lot of teams now they come man to man. Man to man you need to pass the ball. It’s important, one touch, two touch.”
De Zerbi will be eager for his methods to deliver instant results, with his opening seven matches likely to shape his entire tenure in north London, despite having penned a five-year contract. In addition to their trip to Sunderland, Spurs De Zerbi’s former side Brighton, Leeds United Wolves, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Everton.
