Nottingham Forest have suffered a setback regarding the fitness of one of their summer signings who has been forced to withdraw from international duty through injury, according to reports.
Nottingham Forest injury news
The Midlands outfit currently have Callum Hudson-Odoi, Gonzalo Montiel and Felipe all out on the sidelines with their own respective problems as it stands, and last weekend, the club were handed a further fresh blow regarding Murillo.
During Sunday’s 3-2 Premier League defeat to West Ham, the centre-back was forced off the pitch after 76 minutes and replaced by Willy Boly after sustaining a hamstring problem, and with Steve Cooper since confirming that he’ll be sent for a scan, the manager faces an anxious wait to discover the results.
At the London Stadium, Anthony Elanga was one of the afternoon’s goalscorers, and despite him completing the full entirety of the encounter, the following update would suggest that he picked up a mysterious injury whilst out on the grass in the capital.
The Reds’ left-winger put pen to paper over the summer from Manchester United and he’s already made 13 appearances to date so he’s clearly made a positive impression on the boss by being featured so many times (Transfermarkt – Elanga statistics), though there’s a chance that the 21-year-old could now be facing a period out.
Anthony Elanga withdraws from Sweden squad
According to Sweden manager Janne Andersson (via Fotbollskanalen and Sport Witness), Elanga has pulled out of representing his nation over the next fortnight due to sustaining an unknown injury vs David Moyes' side.
He said: "Something happened during the match (against West Ham) that caused him to suffer an injury. The club has to communicate what the status is, but it was not good enough for him to contribute during this international break.”
Anthony Elanga's instant impact at Forest
Following his arrival at Nottingham Forest, Elanga has been hailed a “quality” signing for Evangelos Marinakis by journalist Josh Bunting, so should he indeed be set for a spell in the treatment room, it would be a huge blow for Cooper. The Hyllie native already has five contributions (three assists and two goals) to his name in 13 outings for the club, highlighting not only how prolific he can be but also the instant positive impact he’s made to the action in the final third.
Sponsored by Nike, the £25k-per-week earner (Nottingham Forest salaries), has also recorded 17 shots over the course of the current campaign which is the second-highest behind Morgan Gibbs-White (FBRef – Nottingham Forest statistics), showing his desire to hit the back of the net even if the end product isn't always there.
Finally, Elanga is a versatile operator having been deployed in five various positions over the pitch since the start of his career, including three roles across the frontline and even at left-back and right-back so that he can burst down the flank using his pace, so for everything that he brings to the side, the sooner he returns, the better.