Chris Wood’s return to fitness could not be more timely for Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Chris Wood marked his comeback with a goal for Nottingham Forest’s B team, 215 days after his last Premier League strike, a timely boost for a side short on goals.

He converted James Sinclair’s cross-shot after 11 minutes at Loughborough University. According to NY Times, the New Zealand international’s movement found him a yard of space to finish from close range.

Wood has been out since mid-October, his last first-team outing a 3-0 defeat against Chelsea, Ange Postecoglou’s final game in charge. Forest hoped a knee problem would heal with rest, but a pre-Christmas scan showed treatment was needed for a cartilage issue.

Sean Dyche departed without Wood featuring, and successor Vitor Pereira would welcome last season’s 20-goal top scorer. “He is another leader, fantastic player and character and we need him for the last games,” said Pereira after the penalty shootout win over Midtjylland in Denmark on Thursday.

His two goals in the opening-day win at Brentford on 17 August still leave him joint-third among Forest’s league scorers. Morgan Gibbs-White has eight and Callum Hudson-Odoi three.

Wood played 45 minutes, organising team-mates and pressing energetically. Kalum Thompson made it 2-0 and substitute Donnell McNeilly added a third after the break.

Sunday’s trip to Tottenham will be too soon, but with the league resuming on 12 April at Aston Villa, he could yet feature in the final seven matches. He is in the Europa League squad and could face Porto in the quarter-final, while New Zealand also hope to include him at the World Cup in a few months.

Source: NY Times