Awoniyi, Wood, Elanga – Nottingham Forest injury update provided after Aston Villa defeat

Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa in Premier League clash

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo lamented the loss of his two strikers as Nottingham Forest were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa in the West Midlands.

The Reds were without Chris Wood (hip) and Taiwo Awoniyi (hamstring) at Villa Park. And with no out-and-out forward in the squad, they were left to rue a succession of missed chances.

After a poor start in which they conceded two goals in the space of two minutes in the first half, Forest responded and bombarded their opponents – particularly in the second half. Jota Silva pulled one back for the visitors but despite mustering 19 shots, only three were on target as they fell to defeat.

Asked if he felt the Reds would have won had they had their front men available, Nuno said: “You never know. What we tried was to try to find solutions.

“For me, football is strikers. We missed Chris and we missed T, because the way we play and the way we do things we need a reference player. It is very hard on Anthony (Elanga), Callum (Hudson-Odoi), Jota (Silva) and (Ramon) Sosa to do the same. It is not the same.

“It was probably one of the matches where we created more chances. We are disappointed not only with the chances we created but didn’t score, but also with the way we started the game.

“We didn’t start so good. We were much better in the second half but the feeling is one of disappointment.”

Awoniyi had started the last two games in the absence of Wood, who had sustained his injury while on international duty for New Zealand. But the Nigerian suffered a hamstring problem in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Manchester United.

“He felt his hamstring in the game,” Nuno explained. “When I spoke to you on Thursday, I already knew. I am sorry I didn’t tell you. We are going to have to assess day by day, him and Chris, to see if they can help us in the next one.

“It is day by day with Chris. He is improving.