Steve Cooper has refused to guarantee that Brennan Johnson will play for Nottingham Forest on Saturday at the City Ground.
The head coach has been discussing his team’s star man during a press conference ahead of Saturday’s game with Wolves.
The Reds face Julen Lopetegui’s men in a must-win game but the 21-year-old star is nursing a bit of a problem with his groin.
Johnson was substituted in the recent game against Tottenham but then played the full 90 minutes six days later against Newcastle.
That saw him risk the wrath of Rob Page with the Wales boss unhappy that he wasn’t able to assess him on international duty.
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Page will likely be watching with intrigue at 2pm on Saturday to see whether Johnson plays for Forest but Cooper doesn’t sound overly hopeful.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Brennan is not back to full fitness. It’s something we are assessing on a daily basis and are having to manage.
“Like some of the other guys, it’s a little bit inconclusive at the moment, in terms of availability for the next games with us having three in a week.
“It’s a day-by-day situation, not just with him but with a few of the boys.”
Cooper has refused to guarantee that Johnson will play for Forest
The 43-year-old has been renowned for being quite coy when it comes to injury updates in the past.
As a result, it would be no surprise at all to see Cooper start Johnson on Saturday against Wolves.
Forest desperately need their star man to be fit and firing. He has scored nine goals in all competitions this season and he’s bang in form.
Johnson links up very well with Morgan Gibbs-White and those two could be integral as the Reds bid to avoid a quick return to the Championship.