Morgan Gibbs-White remains a major doubt for Nottingham Forest ahead of their high-stakes Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa, after missing training earlier this week.
The midfielder, who was forced off during Forest’s 3-1 win over Chelsea, suffered a deep cut to his forehead.
As the tie edges closer, Forest’s medical team is racing against time to determine whether he can feature, potentially wearing a protective mask.
Meanwhile, momentum hangs in the balance as Forest carry a slender 1-0 advantage into the decisive clash at Villa Park.
However, head coach Vitor Pereira admits the final call will go down to the wire.
“With pain for sure. We will see until tomorrow if he is able or not, we will see,” Pereira said.
“It’s a big question. This is not a question for me, it’s a decision between the player, the medical department and myself, but we haven’t had the last meeting to decide.
“I really don’t know about Morgan, the doubts that you have are the same doubts that I have.
“We need to have a meeting today, see until tomorrow, and we see what we can do.
“But if Morgan cannot play, we start with 11, as I said every time, he is a very important player for us but we are ready to face this match.
“I honestly hope he can play and he can help us tomorrow, but in case it’s not possible, we’ll play with another one, and this one, for sure, will try to be the best player on the pitch.”
As kickoff approaches, Forest must stay sharp and adaptable. Whether Gibbs-White makes a dramatic return or not, the stakes remain sky-high; and the race to the final is still wide open.
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