The coach of Nottingham Forest of England, Nino Espirito Santo has revealed that the squad is missing the energy that Nigerian striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, brings into the team.
Sports247 reports that the former SV Frankfurt and Union Berlin of Germany striker, who was initially signed by Liverpool of England at the start of his career overseas but never played an official match for The Reds, has been out since he copped a stomach injury the previous weekend.
The injury required surgery and an induced coma at the start of last week, and though the team snatched a 2-1 victory away to West Ham United this past Sunday in his absence, Espirito conceded that the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup winner would have added more flair to the squad.
The gaffer equally expressed delight that the efforts of everyone in the team paid off, as they all resolved to win the away fixture as a mark of honour to the badging striker, who they fondly call ‘T,’ and the tactician concluded by revealing he hopes to see the lanky lad back pretty soon.
“During the preparation, the final talk, the players wanted to do it for ‘T’ … and they worked really, really hard.
The victory is for ‘T,’ that is for sure, and he’s recovering well, thank God. Hopefully, he’s going to join us soon. We need his energy and his smile,” Espirito disclosed.
The gaffer and his players will again hope that Awoniyi’s aura will back the squad in absentia this weekend when they host Chelsea in the final fixture of the season; a game that will determine if they would get a ticket to the UEFA Champions League or settle for the Conference League spot that they currently have as seventh placed in the EPL.
