'Hopeful…' - Forest could now get huge late injury boost before Sheff Utd

Nottingham Forest could welcome back Jack Colback and Ryan Yates for their Championship playoff semifinal clash with Sheffield United. 

Forest, who finished fourth in the Championship, travel to Bramall Lane to take on the fifth-placed Blades in the first leg on Saturday afternoon.

They’re looking to return to the top flight after 23 years away following their relegation in 1999.

Both Colback and Yates missed the last game of the season – a 1-1 draw with Hull City – through injury, but it appears that their problems were minor.

Forest journalist Callum Castel-Nuovo reported the potential double boost on Thursday evening.

Manager Steve Cooper ‘is hopeful’ that both Colback and Davis ‘will be fit enough to play on Saturday’.

These are both significant returnees for Forest. Colback started 36 of Forest’s 46 Championship matches over the course of the season, while Yates was an even more prominent figure, featuring in 41 line-ups.

The former is an important defensive presence in midfield, averaging 2.2 tackles per 90 minutes (second in the squad), while the latter ranks fourth in Forest’s goal charts with eight.

And Yates’ threat may be particularly important to preserving the team’s firepower in the absence of 12-goal hitman Lewis Grabban.

Cooper will surely feel much more confident heading to Yorkshire with both players in the travelling party.

In other news, a huge decision has been made ahead of the semifinal.

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