Steve Cooper Raises Doubt Over Awoniyi’s Fitness Ahead Of Super Eagles World Cup Qualifiers

Nottingham Forest coach Steve Cooper says Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi might not feature in the Super Eagles’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers during the international break.

The Super Eagles will take on Lesotho on Thursday, November 16 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium before travelling to face Zimbabwe at the Huye Stadium on Sunday, November 19.

Awoniyi made a comeback from a groin injury in Forest’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, October 29.

However Cooper says the club will have to manage Awoniyi’s injury situation.

“Taiwo is a player we have to manage,” nottinghampost.com quoted Cooper as saying.

“He’s in a bit of a complex situation with his injury. It’s an ongoing one and it will be for a little while. It’s frustrating for him more than anyone else. He was doing so well and this has really held him back.

“It’s not as simple as he’s back training and he’s fully fit. It is something that is going to be a managing process for a little bit of time now. We’ll see if he’s available for the weekend but it could go either way.

“It is something we will have to take day by day. He has good support around him, in terms of the medical staff we have and hopefully he will be able to play more often than not. The question of international duty is a question for next week At the moment we are just focusing on what we might be able to get out of him this weekend.”

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for six out of the last eight FIFA World Cup tournaments. They failed to qualify for Germany 2006 and Qatar 2022.

Awoniyi has scored twice in seven games for the Super Eagles.

The 26-year-old has three goals and two assists in eight games in the Premier League this term.

Nottingham Forest are currently 16th in the Premier League standings with 10 points in 10 games as they battle to avoid the drop.