‘That is true’: Steve Cooper confirms two new casualties ahead of Forest v Luton

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Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has confirmed that Gonzalo Montiel and Serge Aurier are both injured. In the case of Montiel, he was injured during a 2-0 win for Argentina against Peru on Tuesday night.

Aurier was always a concern for the Reds. He’s not really looked particularly fit all season and against Crystal Palace, he was withdrawn at half-time of the contest.

Now, Cooper has confirmed that both right-backs will be missing when Forest play Luton at the weekend. That leaves Cooper with a void to fill and he will have to shuffle his pack.

Cooper confirms devastating Montiel blow

This isn’t particularly good news. The Reds now have just one available right-back and Neco Williams who has hardly played this season is likely to start on Saturday and he’s on the back of two good performances for Wales.

Montiel was just getting into his stride too. He nearly scored in the second half against Palace and ultimately he’s now going to be out of the team for a bit of time.

Cooper was quizzed on the new injuries that have been collected in his squad and this one is definitely considered a setback.

He told Football Daily: “That is true. We will assess it ourselves. We’ve seen the initial scans and everything but it does look like a calf injury. Obviously, Serge walked off at Crystal Palace so he’s got an injury. You want everyone fit but that’s often not the case.”

Montiel and Aurier a huge injury blow for Forest

The duo are very good players with decent pedigrees in the game. Both have played internationally and in the Champions League, with their experience set to be missed.

It was always anticipated that Aurier might not be fit for this weekend. To now lose Montiel as well is pretty remarkable and represents a similar trend to last season.

Forest suffered loads of injury problems during 2022/23 and they’ll be keen not to collect anymore before they get some of their current fitness doubts back.

Cooper doesn’t sound fazed by these two injuries. In his eyes, it will be a case of the next man up and whoever gets the nod will have a big opportunity on Saturday.