Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi is expected to be brought out of an induced coma on Wednesday after urgent surgery on a serious abdominal injury sustained in Sunday’s match against Leicester.
The Nigeria striker was injured after colliding with a post during the 2-2 draw at the City Ground, after which the Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, stormed on to the pitch.
Forest anticipate Awoniyi will make a full recovery, though it remains unclear when he will be discharged from hospital. He underwent surgery on Monday. It was a medical decision to place Awoniyi into an induced coma to stabilise his condition and for the 27-year-old’s own comfort.
Awoniyi returned to the pitch on Sunday after lengthy treatment after the incident in the 88th minute. Awoniyi clattered against a post in an attempt to meet Anthony Elanga’s cross. Elanga was in an offside position when he collected the ball but the assistant referee did not raise their flag until after Awoniyi’s collision, in line with International Football Association Board (Ifab) guidance.
In a statement on Tuesday, Forest said Marinakis’s decision to go on the pitch stemmed from his frustration at the incident, which left Forest, who had used all of their permitted substitutes, with 10 men for the closing stages. A draw dented their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
“His [Marinakis’s] deep frustration at seeing our player lying on the ground in severe pain – something no one with genuine care could ignore – triggered him to go on the pitch,” it read. “He would do the same if such an unfortunate even were ever to reoccur.”
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Forest also disputed suggestions that Marinakis had a confrontation with the head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, after entering the pitch. “There was only shared frustration between all of us that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue,” the statement said.
