Ahead of Nottingham Forest’s trip to face West Ham on Sunday, there has been little update on the fitness of Brazilian centre back, Murillo.
Murillo picked up a knock against Crystal Palace in the 1-1 draw, which forced him to miss last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City.
The Brazilian scored in the Palace game, and the early signs about his recovery seemed positive, with reports suggesting that Murillo would be in with a chance of playing against Leicester.
This never transpired, though, and the 22-year-old hasn’t been mentioned since. The only clue available about his fitness has been images released from the Forest training ground.
Murillo not seen in Nottingham Forest training footage
Of course, Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury has been the focus of attention this week, with the positive update on the Nigerian’s health being the main talking point of Nuno Espírito Santo’s press conference.
However, fans may have expected to hear something about Murillo, but judging from the images released of the Forest squad training, it wouldn’t have been positive news.
On Friday, images were posted on Instagram of the players in the gym, featuring the likes of Nikola Milenkovic and Harry Toffolo, but no sign of Murillo.
Saturday has seen more images shared of players out on the grass this time, but again, the centre back is absent as Morgan Gibbs-White and Neco Williams were featured instead.
It looks as if it’ll be Morato and Milenkovic at the back at the London Stadium, with Morato in particular looking to improve upon a less-than-convincing display at the City Ground on Sunday.
Morato will need to improve against West Ham
It’s not easy being a backup, and the Brazilian will be well aware of it after Forest fans slammed Morato for his role in the Reds’ away defeat against Aston Villa.
He will have his chance again on Sunday, though, where he will need to be more commanding than he was against Leicester.
In Leicester’s second goal, Morato was too cautious in his approach to Facundo Buonanotte, who eventually danced past a weak challenge to fire past Matz Sels.
Other than this moment, the Brazilian didn’t have a lot to do defensively, but it is in these moments that his impact will be remembered so the Forest coaching staff will be hoping he is more switched on.
Nobody could ever expect him to recreate Murillo’s incredible talents on the ball, but Morato must be a more commanding presence at the back against West Ham to compensate.
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