Nottingham Forest star 'hit for six' by illness as Steve Cooper provides update

Midfielder Jack Colback has been "hit for six" by an illness which has kept him out of Nottingham Forest's last two games.

The 32-year-old started the Reds' opening Premier League clash against former club Newcastle United. But he was ruled out of the matches against West Ham United and Everton, and he will also be unavailable for Tuesday night's trip to Grimsby Town in the League Cup.

Colback has now been able to link up again with his teammates, having been absent for more than a week. However, he is not yet back in full training, with the club looking to gradually increase his levels in the coming days.

"He's not available for tomorrow. He is back with us, but he's been hit for six, really, with his illness," boss Steve Cooper told NottinghamshireLive ahead of the midweek tie.

"For somebody who came back in pre-season and looked really good and secure with his fitness levels, it's really stopped him in his tracks. He started the first game, at Newcastle, and was in really good physical condition and in good form. It's set him back, to be honest.

"He is back with us. But he's not training fully; he can't, because he's getting back up to speed.

"He won't be available for the game (at Grimsby), although we are looking to up his training in the next day or two. We'll see how he responds to that.

"It's slightly different to an injury, really, in terms of how you can recover and build up. He feels okay, but with his physical activity, it's taking a while to get his body really feeling like normal with training. We're going to have to be a bit careful with him and take it step by step.

"But it's great to have him back, because he wasn't even at the training ground for over a week. He's a big character, Jack, and a positive