Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi will not be available for selection once again when Nottingham Forest take on Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Tricky Trees will be looking to book their ticket to the quarterfinals of Europe’s second-biggest club competition when they lock horns with Danish giants FC Midtjylland.
The first leg is slated for Thursday at the City Ground, and Nottingham Forest will be hoping to secure a first-leg advantage from the fixture.
Nottingham Forest have two Nigerian stars on their roster — Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina — but only one of them will participate in the game: the latter.
Awoniyi has been conspicuously absent from Nottingham Forest’s Europa League matches this season. During the league phase, he did not feature in any games due to his consistent injury problems.
However, he has returned to full fitness since the turn of the year and could have even played in their round of 16 playoff fixture against Fenerbahce, but he was left out of the squad.
Now, ahead of the fixture against Midtjylland, it has been confirmed that he remains unavailable.
Why Taiwo Awoniyi Will Not Play Against Midtjylland
Soccernet.ng can exclusively confirm that Taiwo Awoniyi is not included in Nottingham Forest’s Europa League squad for the remainder of the season.
This was confirmed via a check of the club’s official squad list on the UEFA Europa League website. In place of Awoniyi, the club has opted for strikers like Chris Wood — who has struggled with fitness all season — Igor Jesus, and Lorenzo Lucca.
According to UEFA rules, Nottingham Forest will be unable to add Awoniyi to their registration list for the rest of the campaign.
The Nigerian attacker does not seem to tickle the fancy of coach Vítor Pereira, as he has played only 20 minutes since the Portuguese took charge of the club in mid-February.
Nonetheless, he will be hoping that his fortunes improve at the club soon. Perhaps, he might have to leave in the summer if he is not assured of regular minutes.