Nuno: It’s a positive to have Awoniyi back from injury

Nothingham Forest manager, Nuno Espírito Santo has hailed the return of Taiwo Awoniyi to action as a positive for the club after nearly a three months injury-induced lay off.

The Nigerian who had a groin surgery in November and missed eight Premier League matches for the club returned to action with a bang, scoring Forest’s lone goal in a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal Tuesday evening at the City Ground.

It was Awoniyi’s third Premier League goal in four games against Arsenal, the most he has scored against any club in the competition.

‘It is definitely a positive to have him back. It was not our plan to play him for so many minutes because he has just had two or three sessions with the team. But unfortunately due to the situation with Chris (Wood), we decided to put him in.

‘It is a positive that he played. He had minutes, he scored, he worked,’ Nuno told reporters after the game.

Awoniyi has now scored five times in 11 Premier League games for Forest so far this season with only Wood ahead of him with eight goals in 20 appearances.

The Nigerian was Forest’s top scorer in his debut season (2022/23) with his 10 goals in 27 games.