Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa assess injuries before Europa League semi-final first leg | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa head into Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg with fitness questions on both sides. The City Ground hosts the opener at 8pm, with the return at Villa Park next week.

According to Nottingham Post, Forest’s defensive options could be stretched as Vitor Pereira weighs up his XI. The head coach faces late calls after setbacks in recent matches.

Jair Cunha came off in the second half of Friday’s 5-0 win at Sunderland, appearing in pain and holding his arm. Prior to that, Murillo was already expected to miss this week after pulling up in the 4-1 victory over Burnley. Pereira said assessments were ongoing, adding that losing players in the same position would be a big problem.

Callum Hudson-Odoi has had thigh surgery and will not play again this season. Full-back Nicolo Savona and goalkeeper John Victor, both knee, also have season-ending injuries. Centre-back Willy Boly has almost certainly played his last game for the club and was left out of the Europa and Premier League squads for the second half of the campaign after a knee issue.

Villa have issues of their own. Amadou Onana missed the 1-0 defeat at Fulham after feeling knee pain in training, and Unai Emery said he would be monitored day to day, with Thursday unclear. Boubacar Kamara remains a long-term absentee, while Ross Barkley and Alysson were not included in the European squad for the knockout stages.

Source: Nottingham Post