Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi recovering from ‘urgent surgery’ after post collision

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi is recovering after undergoing urgent surgery to treat a serious abdominal injury.

Awoniyi had the operation on Monday night after sustaining the problem during Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw at Leicester when he collided with a post.

A Forest statement on Tuesday morning read: “The club can confirm Taiwo Awoniyi has undergone urgent surgery following an abdominal injury sustained during Sunday’s match against Leicester City.

“Everyone at Nottingham Forest sends their best wishes to Taiwo.

“The club will provide further updates when appropriate.”

Awoniyi tried to carry on after receiving treatment for several minutes, with the extent of the injury discovered on Monday when he was assessed by medical staff.

The incident was cited as the source of frustration for Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who stormed onto the pitch and confronted head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after the match.

With Forest chasing a late goal which would have been vital to their Champions League hopes, Awoniyi returned to action but was unable to move properly – and Marinakis was unhappy a substitution was not made.

The incident, in which Leicester midfielder Facundo Buonanotte also collided with the upright, happened after Anthony Elanga was allowed to advance on goal, despite being clearly offside.

Play continued after assistant Sian Massey-Ellis delayed putting her flag up, with both players colliding at speed with the post.

The process of delaying the flag is standard practice based on guidance from football’s law-making body the International Football Association Board (IFAB) as per the VAR Protocol within the Laws of the Game.

It states that the flag should be delayed “in a very clear attacking situation when a player is about to score a goal or has a clear run into/towards the opponents’ penalty area”.