Taiwo Awoniyi will not feature in Nottingham Forest’s UEFA Europa League campaign this season after the striker was excluded from the official squad list – www.isagoal.com reports.
The Nigerian forward has not played a single competitive game since suffering a severe abdominal injury in a clash against Leicester City last season, which forced him into surgery and weeks of recovery.
According to Soccernet.ng, the Super Eagles attacker’s road to recovery has been slow, and Forest have turned to new signings to strengthen their attack.
Igor Jesus and Arnauld Kalimuendo were brought in to join Chris Wood, leaving questions about whether Awoniyi still has a role under Nuno Espírito Santo despite his contract running until 2027.
UEFA rules require clubs to include four club-trained players in their 25-man squad, and with Forest only able to register Ryan Yates, they were forced to limit their Europa squad to 22 names.
That restriction made it even harder for players like Awoniyi, Omari Hutchinson, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Jota Silva, who were also left out.
Forest will face Real Betis, FC Porto, FC Midtjylland, Sturm Graz, Malmo FF, Braga, FC Utrecht, and Ferencvaros in the group stage starting this September.
“Awoniyi has been left out of Forest’s squad for the Europa League group stage,” reported the BBC, confirming the blow to the striker’s European hopes.
The club can revise its squad in January, meaning Awoniyi’s only chance of playing in Europe depends on recovery or a transfer before then.
This article was updated 2 hours ago