Nottingham Forest boss delivers ‘unlikely’ admission on fitness of key player ahead of Newcastle United clash

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has revealed Brennan Johnson will be ‘given every chance’ to be fit and available for his side’s home clash with Newcastle United.

The Wales international sustained a groin injury in last Saturday’s defeat against Tottenham Hotspur and has undergone a scan to discover the severity of the injury and to gage how long the forward could be out of action. The news will be a real blow for Forest after Johnson has become on of the huge positives of their season with far with nine goals and two assists in 32 appearances in all competitions during the campaign.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday night’s meeting with the Magpies, Cooper suggested Johnson was ‘unlikely’ to feature - but he will be given time to make a surprise recovery in time for the game.

He said: “He’s had a scan and obviously when you have a scan it tells you something but you have to treat the player.

“It’s unlikely that Brennan will be involved at the weekend but there’s a small chance so we want to give him every chance to see if he is available. If he is, then great, we will try and use him and if not, it’s just one of those things. We are not completely ruling him out but at the same time when you walk off with a bit of a muscle injury it can take a bit longer than a week to recover - but we will see.”

Cooper was questioned over whether Johnson would be allowed to join up with the Wales squad for a Euro 2024 qualification double-header against Croatia and Latvia before the end of the month - but the Forest boss insisted his only focus was on making sure his squad are ready to face a Magpies side boosted by last Sunday’s home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“It’s international break after the game, after the weekend, and lots of players will be will going off but I have not even thought about that to be honest. I’ve just got Friday in mind and like all of the boys, seeing if they are fit and well to go and play,” he continued.

“It would be disappointing but these things do happen. We would love all of our boys to be available and vying for a position to be in the team but on that front it hasn’t gone so well in the last couple of months. You have to focus on the guys that are available to play and they are getting maximum attention from myself and the staff and our full support as well.”