Nottingham Forest injury and absentee latest ahead of massive weekend

This could be a big few days in Nottingham Forest's season as Steve Cooper's side are in both league and FA Cup action.

First up is a trip to face Sheffield United on Friday night, in a crunch clash at the top end of the Championship table. And that is followed by a meeting with Huddersfield Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday evening.

The match at Bramall Lane sees the ninth-placed Reds take on the team just two places and three points above them as they continue to chase a place in the play-offs.

After a lengthy injury list a few weeks ago, Forest head coach Cooper now has almost a full squad available for selection.

Here's a look at the situation as things stand, ahead of the fixture with the Blades.

Forest's top scorer suffered an ankle sprain in the 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City in January which left him having to be helped off the pitch and leaving the ground in a protective boot.

It is expected to keep him out of action for two months, putting an anticipated return at around the end of March/early April.

He will not have to undergo surgery at least, as had initially been feared. But the striker is unlikely to feature until towards the end of the campaign.

He is making good progress in his recovery, however.

“He is progressing,” Cooper said, ahead of Friday night’s clash at Sheffield United.

“It’s a bit of a longer game with him because it was quite a bad ankle injury.

“I had a good update on him yesterday. He’s definitely on course.

“We won’t see him before the international break. But hopefully not too long after it, he’ll be back involved.”

The Reds goalkeeper is serving a three-match suspension after receiving a straight red card in the 2-2 draw against Stoke City for swatting Phil Jagielka around the