Morgan Gibbs-White doubtful for Nottingham Forest’s Arsenal showdown
Nottingham Forest will make a late call on Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of Arsenal’s visit to the City Ground, with the midfielder rated doubtful after sustaining a minor muscle problem in last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace.
Why Gibbs-White’s fitness matters
| Item | Update |
|---|---|
| Fixture | Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal |
| Gibbs-White | Doubtful with a minor muscle injury |
| Training status | Individual rehabilitation work on Friday; possible return to team training on Saturday |
| Recent result | Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest |
Gibbs-White has not completed a full Forest training session this week since picking up the issue at Selhurst Park. He worked separately with the club’s rehabilitation staff on Friday and could take part in Saturday’s final preparation session before the Arsenal match.
Glasner will assess how the player has responded to his individual work and whether he can tolerate the demands of the group session before confirming his squad. The manager indicated that the injury is not considered serious, leaving open the possibility of Gibbs-White being available.
Forest face a demanding run of fixtures, and the potential absence of Gibbs-White would remove an important creative option for the meeting with the reigning Premier League champions. The club will be hoping the midfielder can show sufficient progress in the final fitness check.
Defensive return offers Forest encouragement
Nikola Milenkovic returned to training on Friday after several weeks out and will also be assessed in Saturday’s session. His involvement would provide a timely boost as Forest prepare for Arsenal.
Savona and Igor remain unavailable, however, and will miss the game.
Glasner also pointed to the physical challenges players can face after international breaks. He said the issue was not about assigning blame, but about footballers adapting to differing training methods and workloads after spending more than two weeks with their national teams.
Final decisions still to come
Forest’s final squad selection depends on Saturday’s training outcomes, particularly for Gibbs-White and Milenkovic. Their reactions will determine whether either player can be included for Arsenal’s trip to the City Ground.
