After Super Eagles lacklustre performance at the 2022 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Taiwo Awoniyi and teammates were optimistic of putting up a good show in the last edition in Cote d’Ivoire, injury however knocked out the Nottingham Forest striker from the 2023 party. With Tricky Trees battling relegation in the Premier League, the former Union Berlin forward has been incapacitated by injury again, and might not be in a position to save his club from sinking. To compound the Nigeria international’s woe, he might have to be sacrificed by the City Ground egg heads to avoid another breach of financial rules by the club after an initial four-point deduction had been handed them

Just when Taiwo Awoniyi was hoping to show soccer loving Nigerians what they missed by his absence at the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire with the Super Eagles friendlies against Ghana and Mali, injury struck again.

Nottingham Forest manager, Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed that Awoniyi will miss Nigeria’s friendlies against Ghana and Mali due to injury after he picked up the knock a few days before Nottingham Forest’s Premier League fixture against Luton .

The extent of the injury was disclosed, but Espirito Santo called it a “big blow” for the club, indicating that the Nigerian striker might be out for a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines.

This is another setback for Awoniyi, who only recently recovered from a groin injury that forced him to miss the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. His last appearance for Nigeria came on November 16, 2023, during a World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.

To compound his situation, the former Union Berlin man, might also be sacrificed by the egg heads of Tricky Trees in the club’s quest to avoid another breach of the Premier League’s financial rules.

On Tuesday, Nottingham Forest were handed a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules after the club admitted to breaching PSR by £34.5m above their permitted threshold of £61m.

Meanwhile, the club is at risk of breaching financial rules again next season if they don’t sell one of their top stars and Awoniyi may have been pencilled as one of the top players that the club could be forced to sell in the summer.

Meanwhile, former Nottingham Forest defender, Kelvin Wilson, has heaped pressure on Awoniyi amid relegation battle.

The Reds have flirted with the bottom half of the Premier League for some time now and currently occupy the 17th position, just three points above the relegation zone.

Despite replacing Steve Cooper with Nuno Espirito Santo in the managerial dugout last December, results on the pitch are yet to improve.

Forest have won just two of their last 11 matches in all competitions, while in the Premier League, they are winless in their last three games. The club has also badly struggled in front of goal, having failed to find the back of the net in each of their last three outings.

Wilson however said time is running out for Awoniyi to bail Forest out.

When Forest ignited a late rally to survive relegation last season, Awoniyi played a huge part by scoring some crucial goals in that run.

However, the Nigeria international has lacked consistency this season after being hampered by a groin injury that caused him to miss nearly three months of action, including the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in Ivory Coast.

Awoniyi’s numbers are still decent, though, with the striker accounting for six goals and three assists in the 17 games he’s played in the Premier League this season despite still working his way to full fitness.

However, Wilson, who had two spells with Forest from 2007 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2016 – believes time is running out for Awoniyi to step up and bail the club out of its current struggles. The 38-year-old Englishman said Forest do not have the luxury of waiting for the Nigerian to fully recover before rediscovering his form.

“Have we got time to be patient? Time is running out but we need him to start firing now. I know he’s been injured but the pressure is on and we need him to perform,” Wilson said on the Forest Focus podcast.

“Ideally, we’d be mid-table and we could keep bringing him on for the last 20 minutes to get his fitness up. We don’t have the luxury to give him time, we need him to be scoring goals.”

Forest’s limping form in the Premier League has seen them drop into the relegation battle. Although Espirito Santo’s side are currently outside the drop zone, only three points separate them and 18th-placed Luton Town.

It is increasingly looking like Sheffield United and Burnley – both of whom have a paltry 14 points after 28 rounds of matches – would fill up the bottom two positions.

The battle for who is likely to join the aforementioned duo to the Championship is, however, far from decided, with only five points between Luton and 14th-placed Crystal Palace.

Forest would, therefore, need Awoniyi and every other player on the roster to step up in the final 10 league games to stand any chance of survival. The Reds were in a similar situation last season when they were rooted in the relegation zone as of April 2023, but they turned things around with a strong finish to the campaign, impressively garnering 11 points from their last six matches to maintain their topflight status.

Meanwhile, Taiwo Awoniyi made his 50th appearance for Forest in last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. The 26-year-old joined the English side from Union Berlin for a £17 million fee in the summer of 2022 and has quickly established himself as a key figure at the City Ground.

In his debut season, Awoniyi netted 10 times in the Premier League and is on his way to matching, or even bettering that return in the current campaign after scoring six times already.

In the same vein, Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has advised the Super Eagles striker to work on his positioning so he will get better chances to score.

Rooney, who made his legend at Manchester United and scored 208 Premier League in his playing days, has advised Awoniyi on how he can get more goals.

“As a forward, if you put yourself in the middle of the goal, you will get chances,” he said, per Nottingham Post.

“He needs to take a little bit more care and perhaps make the extra pass, but he will get better opportunities. He has to be ready when those chances come. If he progresses to a bigger club, he will have to be taking those chances.”

It was around this time that Awoniyi started scoring goals aplenty last season and the Nigerian striker could yet again replicate that form and help the Tricky Trees finish the season well. (THISDAY)

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