Injured Chris Wood out of Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton
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Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood suffered an injury while on international duty.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Nottingham Forest are flying high in the English Premier League this season, lying in third place as they chase Champions League football for next season.
Star striker Chris Wood has played a huge role in their surprising season, but manager Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed on March 27 that his team will be without the 1.91m New Zealander when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion on March 29 for their FA Cup quarter-final clash.
Wood, who has been in excellent form this season with 18 goals for Forest in the Premier League, suffered an injury while on international duty.
Said Nuno: “He went for a scan today, we are still waiting. He has been to a specialist for a scan. We will wait on the information and see.
“He will not be available for this game. He felt a kick really hard on his hip, so there is pain there. We have to wait.”
Wood will be a big miss, particularly because he netted a hat-trick when Forest thrashed Brighton 7-0 in the Premier League when they last met in February.
The 33-year-old helped New Zealand qualify for the 2026 World Cup during the international break, claiming another treble against Fiji in a 7-0 demolition, but the captain limped off during the 3-0 win over New Caledonia on March 24.
Although Wood has yet to score in the FA Cup, he had netted in both their penalty shoot-out wins over Exeter City and Ipswich Town, stepping up to take Forest’s first spot kick on both occasions.
As players return from international duty, Nuno said he was still waiting to see if there are any other injury concerns.
“Every time there is an international break, we have to assess. Many of them just arrived today (March 27). We are still waiting on (Paraguay’s) Ramon Sosa tomorrow and we will assess all of them,” he said.
Morgan Gibbs-White did not play for England against Albania and Latvia despite a late call-up and Nuno said that should not affect his performances for twice Cup winners Forest, adding that he does not need to prove England boss Thomas Tuchel wrong.
“Hopefully, he gets a chance in the future... He doesn’t have to prove anybody wrong. This is not the state of mind that he should have,” the Portuguese manager said.
“He has to compete and play and give his teammates and Nottingham Forest everything he has. Things will come naturally.”
As for the FA Cup, Forest are aiming higher this time, having been eliminated from their last three quarter-final matches and last reaching the semi-finals all the way back in 1991, when they finished runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur.
Brighton are chasing a maiden FA Cup win and have advanced from both of their previous two last-eight fixtures in 2019 and 2023. The Seagulls are heading into this game on the back of six wins and a draw in all competitions since that 7-0 loss to Forest.
“We are aware we are going to face a very difficult opponent,” Nuno added. “What comes after, we will see. We love the Cup. We will give everything we can to achieve what our fans expect and desire.” REUTERS
