Steve Cooper opens up on selection dilemmas ahead of Nottingham Forest’s trip to Blackpool

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has admitted he will make a late call on whether Ethan Horvath continues in goal against Blackpool tomorrow.

The USA international was given an opportunity in the first team after Brice Samba’s red card against Stoke in February and his performances meant he kept his place in the team even after the 27-year-old returned.

However, there are doubts about who will start against the Seasiders, as Horvath has been away with USA on international duty during the break.

Even though he didn’t play, the stopper was on the bench against Costa Rica in the early hours of Thursday morning, so he will have returned to the East Midlands after most of his teammates.

And, speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, Cooper confirmed he is yet to decide whether Horvath will play, along with Richie Laryea who is also back late following his exploits with Canada.

“A quick turnaround and time difference (between countries), all of those things need to get taken into account. We need to see them (Horvath and Laryea) first. They’ll have the normal assessments, like all the international boys do when they come back.

“We’ll make that judgement call as and when we can. They’ve got through the camps, as far as we know, injury free. Obviously Richie has played a lot more than Ethan.”

The verdict

That extra game for America and Canada over the international break is far from ideal for club managers of players for those countries, including Cooper.

With Horvath having not played, you would imagine that he will get a start against Blackpool, even if the travelling back from Costa Rica yesterday wouldn’t have been ideal.

But, the stopper has been outstanding since stepping in for Samba and the boss will want to keep with the