Gibbs-White, Murillo & Aina: Latest Nottingham Forest injury news ahead of Aston Villa clash

Arguably the most important match in Nottingham Forest’s recent history takes place on Thursday evening, when Vítor Pereira’s side will hope to defend a 1-0 aggregate lead over Aston Villa in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final – but Forest’s preparations have been hampered by fresh injury concerns in the wake of Monday’s impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Zak Abbott are the latest players to be rendered doubts for the match at Villa Park after both sustained head injuries at Stamford Bridge, while Murillo, Ola Aina and Dan Ndoye are among the key players who could also miss out on a place in the squad. All told, up to 10 first-team players could be absent.

With kick-off fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Nottingham Forest injury news below.

Will Morgan Gibbs-White be fit to face Aston Villa?

Morgan Gibbs-White lasted just 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute before he had to be replaced following an unpleasant coming-together with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez – with the England international posting a rather gruesome picture of the damage to social media in the aftermath.

Gibbs-White required numerous stitched to patch up a deep cut to his forehead, and head coach Pereira has admitted that the attacking midfielder may require a “miracle” to play against Aston Villa on Thursday.

“He is a fighter and we hope for a miracle,” the Nottingham Forest manager said. “We'll see what happens. I really believe we can have him next game. I said to him: ‘Don't head the ball, just play.’"

The good news is that Pereira has confirmed that Gibbs-White did not suffer a concussion and as such won’t be subject to concussion protocols – but team-mate Zach Abbott may also have been as fortunate, with the right-back now “available” to play the Europa League semi-final, according to Pereira, despite his clash of heads with Chelsea debutant Jesse Derry. Gibbs-White, meanwhile, remains a major doubt. Pereira added on Wednesday that a decision would be taken on the day of the game.

Murillo, Aina & Ndoye among other doubts for Nottingham Forest

Among the other players that Pereira will be praying he can call upon is centre-back Murillo, who has been sidelined since April’s win over Burnley due to a hamstring injury.

Murillo, who Pereira hinted was close to be involved against Chelsea, will be assessed in the build-up to the match and remains a doubt, but a social media post from the player suggests that he should be good to go. Another doubt is fellow defender Ola Aina, who missed Monday’s game due to an unspecified muscular issue. Pereira told reporters that Aina had promised him that he would be ready to play against Aston Villa.

Forest will also be hoping for the return of winger Dan Ndoye and midfielder Ibrahim Sangaré. As was the case with Murillo, Pereira had hinted at the possibility that they might play in the Chelsea game, but that proved not to be the case. With no details of the injuries available it’s impossible to know how likely it is that either is involved, but they are likely to face late fitness tests.

Miracles notwithstanding, Nottingham Forest will be without four players who are not expected to feature again this season: Winger Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring), defenders Nicolò Savona and Willy Boly (both knee) and reserve goalkeeper John Victor (also knee) are all finished for the campaign but are expected to be able to take part in pre-season training.