Nottingham Forest were left with several injury concerns for Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash with Burnley after reaching a first European semifinal since 1984.
Chris Wood, Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi all limped off as Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal secured a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto in the Europa League quarterfinal, setting up an all-English last-four tie with Aston Villa.
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It was a famous night in the club’s history as Pereira’s side try to emulate the glory days of Brian Clough, but their precarious Premier League position is still a worry and was not helped by a trio of injury worries.
Wood took a kick to the knee in a challenge that saw Jan Bednarek sent off, Murillo suffered a knock and Hudson-Odoi was holding his thigh.
Pereira delivered a positive prognosis on the former two, but Hudson-Odoi was seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
“I’m not a doctor but I think Chris and Murillo will not be anything special,” Pereira said. “Of course, Chris has a bruise on his knee but I believe that him and Murillo will be ready for Burnley.
“Callum has a muscle injury and it is not possible, that’s the bad news.”
Forest are just three points above the Premier League’s relegation zone and have little time to recover before hosting 19th-placed Burnley on Sunday.
“In my mind we just know the next game we need to fight again with energy,” Pereira added. “I need to recharge myself with a Tesla charger because I need energy, but after a win it is easier to recover than when we lose.
“When you lose, the headache is worse to recover. We try to be in our best condition for Sunday.”
Forest progressed on a night where the club rallied around England international Elliot Anderson, whose mother died in the build-up to the game.
Gibbs-White celebrated his winner by holding a shirt aloft in tribute to Anderson, reading “Family first. We are all with you.”
“Very sad situation. Everyone plays with Elliot in his heart,” Pereira said. “They think about him, my condolences to the family. We’re here to help him and we’ll see if he can play the next game.
“I said to my players at the end of the game in the dressing room that it is an honour for me to be a manager of this group.
“When we feel we are fighting for each other, when someone of us is suffering, we are there to support and there to take care. That is why I feel very proud of my team.”
Not since the heady days of Clough have Forest performed as well on the continent, where they won back-to-back European Cups and got to the last four of the UEFA Cup in the space of five years.
Now, a two-legged tie with Premier League rivals Aston Villa is standing in the way of another shot at European silverware.
“It’s important to put smiles on the faces of the supporters, to connect the team with the supporters, to unite the family and to believe,” Pereira said.
“We feel that we are creating something, the spirit to compete, to enjoy, to celebrate and to suffer together and this is the true spirit of a club.”
PA contributed to this report.
