Nottingham Forest will leave it as late as possible to make calls on the fitness of injured duo Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi for the clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Full-back Aina has been sidelined with a calf problem since being forced off in the first half of the 1-0 win over Manchester United earlier this month. Striker Awoniyi, meanwhile, has missed the past two games with a hamstring issue.
The pair were not involved in a training session with their teammates this morning (Thursday) ahead of Monday’s trip to the capital to face Spurs (8pm kick-off). But head coach Nuno Espirito Santo will make a final assessment on them closer to the game.
"We have to assess,” said the Portuguese. “They were not with the group and are still carrying some problems.
“We have to assess them. It is going to be day by day.”
Thanks to the fixture schedule, Forest will at least have had a clear week of rest and recovery by the time they take on Tottenham. The extra few days between matches should help top scorer Chris Wood, in particular.
The New Zealander made his comeback from a hip injury in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Everton. Wood played the full 90 minutes but did not look fully fit at the City Ground.
"Of course we have to manage Chris,” Nuno said. “He has been out for a while. He was unable to play in the previous games because of his injury.
"The effort was good, but not as good as we want. Now we are positive that on Monday Chris is going to be better.
“Having the full week is good because we have been facing a tight schedule with a lot of big effort from the players. Many of them are struggling with some situations.
"A clear week was good for us because more than anything it allowed the players to recover properly - not push them immediately after a big effort. We could give them time to recover. Monday, we are going to compete.”
The Reds go into Monday’s game on the back of successive losses. They have been overtaken by Newcastle United in the Premier League table, courtesy of the Magpies’ win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, and are now fourth.