Nottingham Forest announce Taiwo Awoniyi suffered concussion and broken nose in injury that saw match delayed 11 minutes
NOTTINGHAM FOREST manager Nuno Espirito Santo announced Taiwo Awoniyi suffered a concussion and a broken nose after a bloody clash against Exeter City.
Awoniyi, 27, started for Forest in the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Exeter at St James Park and scored a goal during a dramatic 2-2 draw that led to a tense penalty shootout won by the visitors.
The striker made it 2-1 after team-mate Ramon Sosa cancelled out Josh Magennis’ opener but couldn’t finish the match after a horror collision with the Grecians’ goalkeeper Joe Whitworth’s elbow.
The Nigeria international fell to the ground and required almost 11 minutes of treatment before being taken off the pitch on a stretcher in the 13th minute of stoppage time, just before the final whistle.
Nuno, 51, shared the full extent of the centre-forward’s injury stating he was in “a lot of pain”.
However, the Portguese tactician confirmed Awoniyi quickly regained his smile.
Nuno said: “He had a concussion and I think he broke his nose, so a lot of pain.
“But he has a smile on his face, that [is] because he did an amazing job. We are delighted with him.”
Forest endured a stressful night in Exeter as Magennis completed a brace after Awoniyi’s goal, which led to a penalty shootout.
The Tricky Trees won 4-2 after netting all of their spot-kicks but Nuno was criticised for his heavy rotation, which included 10 changes.
However, the ex-Tottenham boss insists that was a necessity and hinted he will do the same in the fifth round against Ipswich Town.
This comes amid Nottingham’s stunning season that has seen them challenging for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.
Nuno added: “It’s not about resting [players], it’s about how we are approaching the competition.
“We did the same at Luton, and we’re going to probably do the same [again] because, unfortunately, we cannot give minutes to all the players.
“So this is a reward for all the players that worked so hard, the young boys. It’s good for us. It’s not resting players. It’s taking care of all the squad.
“The FA Cup is very hard, and just look at the draws that came. A lot of surprises will happen.
“We just have to do our job. It’s going to be at the City Ground [the match with Ipswich], and we’re going to be ready.”