Nottingham Forest boss Cooper restates faith in Awoniyi despite injury layoff

When Awoniyi had a similar injury last year, he was out for months.

Despite Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury absence, Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has stated his confidence in him, according to Soccernet.

This year, Awoniyi has been a key player for Nottingham Forest. He helped Forest remain in the Premier League by scoring six goals in their final four games of the previous campaign.

He scored three goals in the Tricky Trees’ first three games of this season, which was off to an explosive start.

But since he returned from the Nigerian team’s international break, he has struggled, scoring just once in his past three outings. The 24-year-old hitman was also declared inactive due to a groin issue only hours before Nottingham Forest’s match against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Then it was revealed that he will be out of commission for at least a month. As a result, he will be absent from Forest’s upcoming Premier League games against Luton Town, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.

However, Forest manager Cooper is certain that Awoniyi will perform when he returns from injury.

According to Nottinghampost, Cooper stated, “Of course, it is a blow, as he’s [Awoniyi] been our man up front.”

He’s been away for a month. During the contest with Brentford, he did it.

He has previously had an injury and recovered quite well, so he is confident in his ability. He’ll promise to do that.

“We’ll work as quickly as we can to get T into therapy and rehabilitation. We’ll offer him all the assistance we can since we know he’ll be eager to get back in touch with us and will have a nice attitude about it.

When Awoniyi made his comeback from injury last season, his goals kept Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The market prices of players in England have been revised by the football statistics and transfer website Transfermarkt, with two international players from Nigeria seeing increases.

Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest have experienced an uptick in their appraisals.

Prior to Iwobi, who is valued at 28 million euros, and Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City, who is valued at 25 million euros, Awoniyi is the most valuable Nigerian-born player in England. His market worth is 30 million euros, or around N24.6 billion in Nigerian money.

Awoniyi’s stock has increased with a strong start to the 2023–2024 season, in which he has contributed five goals (3 goals, 2 assists) in seven Premier League games. His worth was estimated at €25 million in June 2023.

The 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup champion is Nottingham Forest’s third-highest paid player and the second-most expensive player of Nigerian descent in the world, after Napoli attacker Victor Osimhen (€120m).

Aina, a colleague of Awoniyi, now has a worth of 5 million euros after receiving an additional 1.5 million euros in value.

For August, the striker was awarded Nottingham Forest’s Player of the Month, while for September, the right-back won the honor.

Due to injury, Aina and Awoniyi withdrew from the Nigerian team for their upcoming international matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.