Nottingham Forest have ‘a couple’ of injury concerns ahead of their trip to QPR - but Martin O’Neill says he wants to keep the identity of those struggling under wraps, to avoid alerting their opponents.
The Reds boss has said it is unlikely that either Michael Dawson and Tobias Figueiredo will feature - although the Portuguese defender does have a chance of featuring in the final day clash with Bolton, if that game goes ahead.
And he also hinted that Leo Bonatini is unlikely to feature again for the Reds, amid what has been a hugely disappointing loan spell for the Wolves striker.
The Brazilian front man is understood to be short of match fitness, although O’Neill would not be drawn on the precise nature of his problem, which has seen him make only two starts and three sub appearances, since joining the club in January.
“He is not our player, so I am not so sure I should be making any serious comment about it,” said O’Neill. “It has been tough for him, since he has come here.”
Joao Carvalho's transfer fee should not be the barometer for his success with Nottingham Forest
When asked directly if it was a fitness issue, O’Neill repeated: “It has been tough for him, since he has been here.”
Forest are also understood to have injury problems to overcome with ‘a couple’ of players who were involved in the 3-0 drubbing of Middlesbrough on Monday.
“We have a couple of injury concerns, but there is no point me telling you about them, because we do not want to alert the opposition to them,” said O’Neill. “We will see how we are, tomorrow.
“I think Tobias is further on than big Dawson. Dawson trains with us now and does not seem to have any real problem. But he has not been involved in an under-23 game yet.
“Tobias has had that and we will see. He has done as much work as he can and, after Saturday, we will have a little look at it, for the last game of the season. We will see.”
