Morgan Gibbs-White fitness watch grows before Villa Park

Morgan Gibbs-White left Stamford Bridge with stitches across his forehead and nose, and Nottingham Forest are now waiting to see whether he can make Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg. The midfielder and Robert Sánchez both had to come off with their heads bandaged after colliding in Forest's 3-1 Premier League win over Chelsea on Monday. Forest take a 1-0 lead into Aston Villa's Villa Park, so this is a genuine fitness watch rather than a routine injury update.

Why Forest still believe he can play

Vitor Pereira said Gibbs-White's substitution was not related to concussion, which is the key detail here. The issue is the cut on his face, and whether that heals in time for Thursday.

"He has a deep cut, we will see, he is a fighter and we hope for a miracle," Pereira told BBC.

He was a little more direct about the next step too. "We'll see what happens. I really believe we can have him next game. I said to him: Don't head the ball, just play."

That is a reasonable position from Forest. Gibbs-White has been one of their most important players all season, with 35 Premier League appearances, 13 goals and 4 assists, and he also has 14 Europa League appearances, 3 goals and 3 assists in the competition. His 6.71 Europa League rating is not the headline number, but it does back up the idea that he has been useful across the campaign.

Forest are unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions, so they are not walking into Villa Park in bad shape. They are also protecting a 1-0 aggregate lead, which makes Gibbs-White's availability feel especially important. A player with his workload and output is hard to replace cleanly in a semi-final second leg.

If he makes it, Forest have a real chance of keeping their best attacking connector on the pitch. If he does not, Pereira will have to manage a game plan without one of the players who has driven their season most consistently.