Nottingham Forest are facing an agonizing wait over the fitness of talismanic playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White as head coach Oliver Glasner prepares his side for a high-stakes Premier League showdown against title contenders Arsenal at the City Ground on Sunday.
The Tricky Trees enter the weekend fixture under immense pressure, seeking to snap a dismal home record that has seen them go without a top-flight victory on their own turf since April.
However, Glasner’s preparations have been severely disrupted by a fresh wave of injury setbacks, with Gibbs-White joining a growing list of key personnel struggling for availability.
Gibbs-White Injury Sweat: “He Couldn’t Train the Entire Week”
Speaking in his Friday pre-match press conference, Glasner confirmed that Gibbs-White suffered a muscle injury during Forest’s 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace and has been unable to participate in full squad sessions all week.
While the England international underwent individual rehabilitation work on Friday, Glasner emphasized that a late decision will be made following Saturday’s final training session:
”Morgan Gibbs-White is a doubt. He couldn’t train the entire week with us. It looks like he can join tomorrow’s session. He had an individual session today with our rehab coaches. He suffered a minor muscle injury at Palace. We have to see how he reacts today and how he deals with tomorrow’s session, and then we will take the final decision.
”Luckily the injury doesn’t seem to be very serious. We have a chance that he’s available. Morgan is very important with the quality he has, but the team doesn’t just depend on him. It is for somebody else to step up.”
Full Squad Availability Update: Igor Jesus Out, Milenkovic Boost
Beyond Gibbs-White’s questionable status, Forest are already confirmed to be without marquee forward Igor Jesus, who remains sidelined for an extended period, alongside long-term defensive absentee Nicolò Savona.
The single bright spot for Glasner’s backline comes in the form of towering center-back Nikola Milenković. After missing recent outings due to severe bone bruising, the Serbian defender completed his first full training session on Friday and could be rushed back into the matchday squad to face Arsenal’s dangerous attack.
Glasner noted the physical toll international breaks take on squad depth:
”Savona will miss the game, Igor as well. Milenković trained for the first time today. Let’s see now how he reacts. He could be in the matchday squad, but let’s see because he has been out for several weeks.
”This is a long season. These are just situations that happen, especially when players go away and play for their country for more than two weeks. Every manager has his style of training, and the body has to get adapted to a different load.”
City Ground Pressure Building Before Arsenal Visit
Following back-to-back league defeats, Forest can ill afford another misstep if they hope to distance themselves from the lower reaches of the table.
With Liam Delap facing mounting scrutiny over his finishing output in attack and Arsenal arriving in formidable form, Glasner’s tactical resolve will be tested to its absolute limit as Forest fight for a season-defining result on the banks of the Trent.
