Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has indicated that representing the Super Eagles of Nigeria contributed to Taiwo Awoniyi’s relapse.
Awoniyi has seen his playing time further reduced this season, managing just 169 minutes for the Tricky Trees after being displaced as a starter by the in-form Chris Wood.
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Espirito on Super Eagles’ impact on Awoniyi’s progress
Espírito Santo recalled that the striker, who missed a total of 46 games over two injury spells last season, was already making progress but hit a setback after he went on international duty with the Super Eagles in October.
”Unfortunately, if I look back, going into the previous (October) international break, he played and then immediately went with his national team and played five minutes. That was a step back,” the 50-year-old manager said, according to quotes from Nottinghamshire Live.
The Nigerian striker’s only start for Forest in the Premier League this season came in last week’s 3-0 loss against Arsenal, where he played 60 minutes.
Despite the defeat, Espírito Santo expressed satisfaction with Awoniyi’s performance, stating he is trying to make room for more playing time for the striker.
“What we have been trying with T is to increase his game time.
“We had him for all of the last international break and he was able to play 60 minutes in a very hard game (against Arsenal). It was a very physical game against tough centre halves, and he did very well,” he added.
While Awoniyi will most likely not start against Ipswich Town this weekend, he will hope to get some minutes as he looks to rediscover his confidence.
