Awoniyi Set to Miss Nottingham Forest’s Europa League Clash with Midtjylland

Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi will once again miss out when Nottingham Forest face FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Forest will aim to take a step closer to the quarter-finals when they host the Danish side in the first leg at the City Ground. The English club will be hoping to gain an early advantage before the return leg.

The Premier League side have two Nigerian players in their squad — Awoniyi and Ola Aina — but only Aina is expected to feature in the match.

Awoniyi has not played in Forest’s Europa League matches this season. During the league phase of the competition, the Nigerian forward missed all the games because of injury problems.

Although he regained full fitness earlier this year and was available around the time of the round of 16 play-off against Fenerbahce, he was not included in the squad.

Ahead of the clash with Midtjylland, it has now been confirmed that Awoniyi will again be unavailable.

Checks on the club’s official squad list on the UEFA website show that the Nigerian striker was not registered for the Europa League for the rest of the season. Instead, Forest included other attacking options such as Chris Wood, Igor Jesus and Lorenzo Lucca.

Under UEFA regulations, clubs are not allowed to add new players to the competition squad at this stage of the tournament, meaning Awoniyi cannot take part for the remainder of the campaign.

Since the arrival of Forest manager Vitor Pereira in mid-February, Awoniyi has struggled for playing time and has featured for only about 20 minutes.

The Nigerian forward will hope his situation improves soon, but if he continues to find opportunities limited, a move away from the club during the summer transfer window could become a possibility. ⚽