NOTTINGHAM, England — Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi will be sidelined for “months,” manager Steve Cooper said Thursday, because of a groin injury that caused him to withdraw from Nigeria’s squad during the international break.
Awoniyi, who has scored four goals in 11 appearances this season as Forest’s first-choice striker, has been managing the problem since October.
He played for Nigeria in its disappointing 1-1 draw with Lesotho in World Cup qualifying last week but then pulled out of the squad and has since had an operation, which is set to rule him out of the African Cup of Nations starting in mid-January.
“He is going to be out for months,” Cooper said of Awoniyi ahead of Forest’s Premier League match against Brighton on Saturday. “We’ll support him and try to get him back as quick and as fit as he can be, but it’s a really unfortunate situation and a blow for him. He’s become an important player for us with the goals he’s scored and the goals he will score for us.”
Nigeria drew its first two World Cup qualifiers. Its next isn’t until June.
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