Forest to make late decision on Gibbs-White fitness for Villa Europa semi

Nottingham Forest will make a late call on Morgan Gibbs-White’s fitness as they prepare for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final at Aston Villa on Thursday.

In-form Forest, leading 1-0 after the first leg against their Premier League rivals, are seeking to reach their first European final since 1980.

Gibbs-White suffered a sickening cut to his forehead during Monday’s impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea, which forced him off in the second half.

The England international posted a photo on social media thanking people for their messages and showing the stitches across his forehead and nose.

There are no concussion protocols regarding the midfielder’s injury but there is doubt over whether the wound will heal quickly enough.

Forest boss Vitor Pereira said headwear has been made for Gibbs-White in the event that he plays at Villa Park.

Asked how the 26-year-old is feeling, Pereira said Wednesday: “With pain for sure. We will see until tomorrow if he is able or not, we will see.

“It’s a big question. This is not a question for me, it’s a decision between the player, the medical department and myself, but we haven’t had the last meeting to decide.”

Gibbs-White has scored 16 goals this season, including a hat-trick in Forest’s recent 4-1 win against Burnley.

Pereira added: “I honestly hope he can play and he can help us tomorrow, but in case it’s not possible, we’ll play with another one, and this one, for sure, will try to be the best player on the pitch.”

Forest, unbeaten in their past 10 games in all competitions, have injury concerns regarding several players, with Ibrahim Sangare, Ola Aina, Murillo and Dan Ndoye all missing recent matches.

“We have a lot of doubts,” said Pereira. “I think today we’ll have a meeting and decide to look for the army and to understand the soldiers.

“To go into the battle, I prefer to go with the healthy soldiers. We’ll see.”

Forest are 90 minutes away from reaching their first major continental final since Brian Clough led the club to successive European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980.

“This is a game not to think about glory, but to think about feeling proud of our work, to feel proud of ourselves, the way that we compete, the way that we fight for each ball, the way that we have personality to play, to face the atmosphere,” said Pereira.

“We speak a lot about the glory, but I don’t feel anything. I just want to be calm.”