Nuno Espirito Santo announced on Thursday that Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood will miss their FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton & Hove Albion due to a New Zealand international injury.
Wood has scored 18 Premier League goals this season for Forest, which is third in the standings and close to Champions League qualifying. Last month, Forest beat Brighton 7-0 in the league with Wood scoring a hat-trick.
During the international break, the 33-year-old scored a hat-trick against Fiji in a 7-0 triumph, but the team’s captain limped off in Monday’s win over Ghana.
“We’re still waiting on his scan today. He was scanned by a professional. “We’ll see after receiving the information,” Espirito Santo stated before Saturday’s game.
This game will be without him. His hip hurts from a strong kick. We must wait.”
As Forest’s first penalty kicker, Wood scored in both their penalty shootout wins over Exeter City and Ipswich Town, despite not scoring in the FA Cup.
As players returned from international duty, Espirito Santo stated they were still checking for injuries.
“Every time there is an international break we have to assess,” stated.
“Many arrived today. We will evaluate them all tomorrow after Ramon Sosa from Paraguay arrives.”
Even though he was called up late, Morgan Gibbs-White did not play for England against Albania and Latvia. Espirito Santo claimed that should not hinder his Forest performances and that he does not need to prove Thomas Tuchel wrong.
“Hopefully he gets a chance sometime… Neither must he prove anyone wrong. “He shouldn’t be this way,” stated the Portuguese manager.
“He must compete, play, and give Nottingham Forest and his teammates everything. Naturally, things will happen.”
