Nottingham Forest will again be without defender Scott McKenna for their clash with Brentford tomorrow.
The summer signing missed the games against Watford and Norwich City, and, sandwiched between those matches, was withdrawn at half-time of the defeat at Reading due to an ankle injury.
He will be absent again for the first of back-to-back outings at the City Ground for Chris Hughton’s side, who take on the Bees looking to end a six-match winless run.
And it means Tobias Figueiredo is likely to retain his spot alongside Joe Worrall in the heart of the back line.
Hughton's challenge
Football management can be a lonely job at the best of times. Nottingham Forest boss Chris Hughton has been in the game long enough to be well versed on that.
But perhaps that feeling is exacerbated even more so when results are not going your way.
A thought no doubt brought home to Hughton when he celebrated his 62nd birthday by overseeing training, plotting a way to end a six-match winless run against Brentford and answering questions from the media about a relegation battle and his team’s wretched form.
When happy birthday wishes were expressed in his pre-match press conference via zoom, Hughton simply responded by saying the best present would be for three points at the City Ground.
Although he says trying to get a Reds squad packed with quality playing to their potential and away from the drop zone is not the biggest challenge of his career, he admits he is having to draw upon his years of experience to get through it.
Transfer verdict
Nottingham Forest legend Garry Birtles says it is worth the risk to cut short Brennan Johnson's loan at Lincoln City.
The 19-year-old has flourished in League One, registering one goal and four assists in nine starts - 11 appearances in total - during a series of dynamic performances.
The Wales international has provided just what Forest have been missing with his dynamic running and progressive play across the front line, but mainly as a number 10 in Michael Appleton's team.
European Cup winner Birtles feels it would be a gamble to bring a young player back into a pressure cooker environment at struggling Forest, but he thinks Johnson could well make a difference.
Quiz the board
Nottingham Forest Supporters’ Trust have announced details of a new initiative which will allow fans to ask questions of the club’s board.
In an agreement with the club, the Trust will run twice yearly open Q&As with the Reds hierarchy, allowing supporters to submit questions.
It is a programme Trust chair Elliott Stanley hopes can be a positive step in encouraging dialogue between those who run Forest and the club’s supporters.
“This is an initiative we’ve been trying to get off the ground for a while, so we’re delighted to finally get it moving to complement our existing dialogue channels with the club - including our formal meetings, the agendas for which are always driven by the topics and questions our members ask us to raise,” Stanley told NottinghamshireLive.
