Taiwo Awoniyi has been recovering from surgery after sustaining a horror injury when Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest team drew with Leicester City in the Premier League
Nottingham Forest star Taiwo Awoniyi said he is “still fighting, still smiling” after his horror injury in the draw with Leicester. The Nigerian international suffered a ruptured intestine after a freak collision with a goalpost in the closing stages of the match at the City Ground.
Awoniyi was placed in an induced coma after undergoing urgent surgery, and is taking things slowly with his recovery. He shared a moving statement on Sunday, with team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White later paying tribute to the striker after opening the scoring for Forest at West Ham.
“This season has been one of the most difficult of my career but through it all, I have felt the love,” Awoniyi wrote on Instagram. “With the grace of God, I am grateful to still be here, to still be fighting, to still be smiling, and to be in good spirits.
“To my teammates, coaches, staff and the entire Forest family, thank you for your well wishes, seeing you all on your visit to the hospital lifted my spirits more than words can say. Wishing the boys the very best in these last two games, keep believing and keep pushing. I’m with you all the way and I can’t wait to be back out there with the boys doing what I love.
“To my family, friends and football fans, thank you for the support, and to everyone back home in Nigeria who has checked in on me, prayed for me and left kind words, thank you. I see them. I feel them. And I carry them with me every day as I recover. Come on you Reds.”
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Forest star Gibbs-White opened the scoring around 10 minutes into the match at the London Stadium. Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola saw a pass intercepted by the England international, who had the simple task of slotting the ball into the net.
Gibbs-White’s celebrations saw him hold up a shirt bearing Awoniyi’s name and number, while players had worn t-shirts with ‘Awoniyi 9’ on the back during the pre-match warm-up. His goal was the only one in the first half, keeping Forest in with a chance of ending the season in the Champions League places.
Nuno had issued an update on Awoniyi in the lead-up to the trip to West Ham. “He went to surgery, surgery went well, thank God,” the manager said.
“He is under observation now, but he is recovering, we still have to wait for the doctors to allow visits. We are concerned but it is positive.
“It has been very difficult because of the concern of the injury, the situation he went through. It’s been very difficult, very difficult on us and on everybody, the concern of the injury that he had, the situation that he entered through, it’s been hard on us.”