Nottingham Forest sweating over fitness of two key players amid huge boost for Manchester United

Nottingham Forest were without Chris Wood for their FA Cup quarter-final win over Brighton on Saturday, and head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has provided an update on the striker's fitness

Nottingham Forest are facing uncertainty surrounding the availability of Chris Wood as they prepare for their Premier League duel with Manchester United.

The 33-year-old was sidelined for the FA Cup quarter-final victory over Brighton due to a hip injury. Forest's head coach Nuno Espirito Santo expressed doubts about Wood's participation in Tuesday's match at home against United.

Nursing an injury from New Zealand's World Cup qualifier win on Monday, Wood hurt his hip and ribs while taking a shot against New Caledonia.

He was scanned prior to his journey back to Britain and again after his return, yet remains in considerable discomfort, reports Nuno.

"Not good," Nuno told Nottinghamshire Live when sharing Wood's status.

"Let's wait and see. It is going to be day by day we have to assess him.

"It is all about the pain he has. It was a big impact on his hip and it is very painful.

"We have to assess him. We are gutted that Chris is not here with us."

Regarding Wood's chances of facing United on Tuesday, Nuno admitted: "I cannot answer that. I don't know, I'm not sure. It is going to be day by day."

Losing Wood for any significant time would pose a major challenge for Forest as they push through the season's closing stages, especially given that he is their lead scorer in the league.

The Reds managed to secure their place in the Wembley semi-finals on Saturday, despite the absence of a key player, thanks to a penalty shootout victory at the Amex Stadium.

After a goalless draw post-extra-time, they edged out a 4-3 win on penalties.

Nuno made the call to substitute Morgan Gibbs-White just before the match proceeded to spot-kicks. Although Gibbs-White has a track record of success with penalties, he was hampered by an injury sustained from a collision with the goalpost.

Nuno expressed his concern for the player's condition post-match: "We are going to assess him. He had a big contact against the post. His leg was not OK and he was struggling.

"In the final minutes, you saw we were suffering. We were on the ropes, so we decided to turn to Morato to see if we could hold on for penalties."