Nuno agrees with Eddie Howe over former Newcastle United star as £43m Nottingham Forest duo to miss out
The latest team news from Nottingham Forest ahead of Newcastle United's visit to the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has showered praise on former Newcastle United striker Chris Wood as he prepares to face his former club on Sunday afternoon.
The New Zealand international has been in stunning form so far this season and has plundered his way to eight goals in ten Premier League games. Five of those goals came in four games during October and that led the experienced frontman to being named as the Premier League Player of the Month ahead of his reunion with the Magpies. Wood already gave a serious indication of the damage he can do to a former club when he struck a hat-trick in Forest’s 3-1 win at St James Park last December in what was one of Nuno’s first games in charge of the City Ground club.
Wood’s attitude and work ethic received praise from United manager Eddie Howe ahead of Sunday’s game - and Nuno has also paid tribute to the in-form striker as he looks to continue playing an integral role in his side’s impressive recent form.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “I am very pleased with Chris’ award because it reflects the hard work but it’s important to remain humble. It’s exactly what Eddie (Howe), it’s about more than the goals, it’s what he represents, what he means to us. We love the ball when we have the ball and he links and puts everybody together. His presence in the dressing room, his presence, his experience, we are delighted.”
On-loan West Ham United midfielder James Ward-Prowse is back in contention after Premier League rules meant he was unable to face his parent club last week - but there are two definite absentees from the Forest squad for Sunday’s game as both Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are both believed to be out of action until after Christmas.
He said: “We still have some players to assess with days to go, there are players improving but not at their best. We hope the international break will allow us to recover the players and settle down the knocks that we have - but it’s basically the same.”