Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has said that while he remains “concerned” about Taiwo Awoniyi after his serious abdominal injury, the forward is recovering and everyone at the club hopes he can be present at the team’s final game of the season next weekend.
Sources told ESPN that Awoniyi was taken to hospital on Monday and underwent “urgent” surgery for the injury he suffered when he collided with the goal frame after coming on as a second-half substitute during the 2-2 draw against Leicester City on Sunday.
The Nigeria international was placed in an “induced coma” to aid his recovery from Monday’s operation by helping to restrict his movement and regulate his heart rate. The second part of his surgery was scheduled to completed on Wednesday.
“He went to surgery, surgery went well, thank God,” the Forest boss said at his pre-match news conference on Friday. “He is under observation now, but he is recovering. We still have to wait for the doctors to allow visits [beyond the player’s immediate family]. His family are there with him. We are concerned but it is positive.
“It has been very difficult because of the concern of the injury, the situation he went through. It’s been very difficult, very difficult on us and on everybody. The concern of the injury that he had, the situation that he has been through, it’s been hard on us. The information that we have is that at least five days he has to be there under observation, so that everything goes well.”
Following his collision with the post, Awoniyi was able to play on after receiving treatment on the pitch at the City Ground. But he was subsequently unable to take an active part in the game. Forest were unable to replace him as they had already used their final substitute window, believing Awoniyi’s injury was not as serious as it turned out to be.
After the final whistle, Forest chief Evangelos Marinakis made his way onto the pitch to voice his frustration with the head coach over the decision that effectively left Forest with 10 men.
Forest later released a statement explaining that the owner’s emotional reaction was due to seeing Awoniyi in immense pain and his frustration at the medical staff for letting him continue the game.
“If I had to change anything, it would be that, immediately if we knew the seriousness of the injury, we would have called the ambulance and sent him to the hospital. But none of us knew that,” Nuno said on Friday.
“We try to visit him. I’ll try to visit him as soon as possible. He’s in good hands, and the family is there, which is, I think what he really needs is the support of the family.
“The players are constantly chatting on their groups. We know that he’s well, he just needs time. I hope that next week he can join us and be around because he’s a wonderful boy, a wonderful boy, and this season has been so hard on him.
“Now we must focus on the task ahead of us, because we are fighting for something huge.”
With two matches left to play, seventh-placed Forest are in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. They travel to east London to take on West Ham in their penultimate fixture on Sunday.
