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Nottingham Forest sweating on key fitness doubt for Arsenal clash

Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


Nottingham Forest are sweating on the fitness of Elliot Anderson for this weekend’s clash with Arsenal.

The Reds mark their return to action after the international break with a trip to face the Gunners on Saturday (3pm kick-off). Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are still unbeaten on the road this season and suffered only their second Premier League defeat of the campaign last time out when they fell 3-1 at home to Newcastle United.

Nuno has some big selection decisions to make for the match at the Emirates Stadium and he has said Forest are "managing some players and some situations". Midfielder Anderson is among that group due to the foot problem he has been struggling with in recent weeks.

“We took advantage of the international break to try to manage some players who were struggling and Elliot was one of them," Nuno said in his pre-match press conference. "Let’s see how he is tomorrow. But for now, we still have to assess him."

Prior to the two-week hiatus, Anderson had been a doubt for the Reds' match with West Ham United earlier this month. In the end, he started on the bench and played the final half-hour - just as was the case against former club Newcastle.

Before that clash with the Hammers, Nuno had said: “Elliot, in the game against (Crystal) Palace, somebody stood on his foot and it was very painful. He was able to play against Leicester, but he has been having treatment on it."

Long-term absentees Danilo (broken ankle) and Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring) are the only two players definitely ruled out against Arsenal. Nuno explained: “We are just managing some players and some situations. As we mentioned before, we took the chance of this international break to recover some players. Let’s wait and see if they improve.”

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