Nottingham Forest are now winless in 12 Premier League games without Taiwo Awoniyi – a run lasting more than seven months.
Steve Cooper’s tricky trees drew 1-1 at Wolves last time out, following a 5-0 thumping at Fulham last week. Awoniyi has been a key man for Forest, but isn’t expected to return to the squad any time soon.
The Nigerian forward is set for months on the sidelines after having surgery on a groin injury. Awoniyi was forced off an hour into his nation’s 1-1 draw with Lesotho before withdrawing from international duty.
He has already missed four Premier League games since then – with Forest losing three. The two-time European Cup winners haven’t won in the league without Awoniyi since beating Leeds 1-0 in February.
That match was the third in a run of nine games the Nigerian missed last season, also with a groin injury. Manager Steve Cooper said after Awoniyi’s latest setback: “It’s bad news on Taiwo, he’s had to have surgery and he is going to be out for months.
“We’ll support him and try to get him back as quick and as fit as he can be, but it’s a really unfortunate situation and a blow for him.”
Since then, Cooper has given a fresh update on the forward’s recovery:
Head coach Steve Cooper provides an update on Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi🇳🇬 #NFFC |🔴🌳pic.twitter.com/5Zm35UcE2f
— Talking Forest (@TalkingForest) December 14, 2023
Taiwo Awoniyi Stats
The injury could not have been timed worse for player or club. Awoniyi had been in great form, with four goals in ten Premier League games this season.
Overall, he’s scored 15 goals and three assists in 41 Forest appearances. His first came in his second game for the club, scoring the winner as Forest beat West Ham 1-0 in August 2022.
Steve Cooper’s side have a great record whenever Awoniyi has been on the scoresheet. On the 13 occasions he has scored, they have won seven, drawn twice and lost just four.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s Forest career began in 2022 after he joined from Bundesliga side Union Berlin for £17.5 million – signing a five year deal. His reported salary is around £50,000 a week, and he has scored 75 career goals in 264 total club games.
The Nigerian international has two senior goals for his country, making his debut in 2021. He scored on his third Nigeria game, in a 3-1 win over Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations. Another goal followed against São Tomé and Príncipe during September’s AFCON qualifying.
But with him now expected to be on the sidelines for a lengthy spell, it could be a long time before he is back on the scoresheet. Forest expect Taiwo Awoniyi to be out until well into the new year, with no return date given.
Who Is Taiwo Awoniyi?
Taiwo Awoniyi was born in Ilorin, Nigeria on 27 August 1997. It was another successful African footballer who first spotted Awoniyi. Former Wolves midfielder Seyi Olofinjana saw him playing at a Coca-Cola football competition in London, and invited him to Nigeria’s imperial soccer academy.
As a youngster in Nigeria, Awoniyi’s family struggled to but him football boots. He often repaired and wore discarded boots from teammates and would play in hand-me-downs.
Atiba Bankole, of the Imperial Soccer Academy, said: “He wasn’t born with a silver spoon so to say.
“You have to give a lot of credit to his parents. They did a fantastic job of bringing him up and instilling the values that he’s now bringing to the fore in his everyday life,” he added.
Many may forget that Taiwo Awoniyi’s professional career began at Liverpool. He signed for the club in August 2015 for a fee of around £400,000.
After failing to make a senior appearance, he was loaned to German side FSV Frankfurt – the first of seven loan spells. After the seventh and final of these, at Union Berlin, he joined the Bundesliga side permanently in 2021.
Awoniyi would score 25 goals in 65 appearances, before signing for Nottingham Forest ahead of last season.
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