Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson might not play for Nottingham Forest again this season

Dean Henderson might not play again this season, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has hinted.

The Manchester United loanee suffered an ankle injury in January and has been unable to return to training since. Keylor Navas secured a loan move to Forest from Paris Saint-Germain to cover for his absence, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper being forced into five saves during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to United.

Henderson would not have been allowed to play against his parent club if fit but speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Liverpool, Cooper said he cannot guarantee the 26-year-old goalkeeper would step back onto the pitch again this season.

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“He’s [Henderson] not back in training. He’s not really any closer,” he said. “He’s still in the medical room, unfortunately, so we’ll see where that takes us in the next week or so.

“I hope he will play again this season, but I don’t know, to be honest. It’s a bit inconclusive on that, so we’ll see.”

Henderson was due to return to training last week but suffered a setback that has extended his time on the sidelines. “It’s just been ongoing. There has been a small setback,” Cooper added.

“The other thing with Dean is he’s a Man United player and you have to work in conjunction with them. They have been absolutely great and the communication has been really good.

“There has been a lot of joined-up thinking, because you have to do that – we would expect the same with our players out on loan.

“He’s had a small setback, in terms of his recovery, but he is working hard. He’s frustrated, as you can imagine. Let’s see when he’s ready to come back.”

The goalkeeper unleashed a tirade of criticism at his parent club upon