Chris Wood’s recovery is providing a welcome boost for Nottingham Forest as they prepare for important games in both the league and in Europe.
Wood’s Return After Knee Surgery
Chris Wood has been building fitness after knee surgery in December and working towards a first-team return. Last weekend, all eyes were on Wood at Forest’s interactive open-training session at the City Ground. At the end of last month, Wood made a goalscoring comeback 11 minutes into his return to action for Forest under-21s against Newcastle at Loughborough University’s stadium.
That match was 215 days since he scored twice on the opening day of the season in victory against Brentford. Wood’s last goal was a stoppage-time penalty in a miserable home defeat by Midtjylland. His last game was October’s 3-0 defeat by Chelsea.
Pereira’s Comments on Wood’s Availability
Vítor Pereira, Forest’s fourth manager of the season, confirmed that Wood may feature in Thursday’s quarter-final first leg in Porto. “He is available and I hope that he can help us in the games we need to face,” said Pereira. Pereira returns to face Porto for the first time since winning successive titles as head coach in 2012 and 2013.
Pereira maintained he does not want to push Wood too soon, but his potential return would represent an invaluable boost. Last season, Wood scored more than a third of Forest’s 58 goals. Since signing in January 2023 their win percentage with him in the team is 37%. It drops to 25% without him. Even his return to training was significant for teammates.
Forest’s Recent Form and Igor Jesus’s Impact
The mood has also been lifted by Forest’s performance in their 3-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the international break. Igor Jesus was excellent in both boxes, opening the scoring with a fine header. The Brazil striker has scored 13 goals this season, seven of those coming in the Europa League, three in the league, and three in the League Cup.
All eyes were on Wood at last weekend’s interactive open-training session, staged at the City Ground.
Wood could return at the Estádio do Dragão in Thursday’s quarter-final first leg in Porto.