Gibbs-White fitted with mask for Forest semi-final

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Premier League

Nottingham Forest are facing an anxious wait over the fitness of star playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of their crucial Europa League semi-final second leg at Aston Villa. Having secured a 1-0 victory in the first leg, the club are dreaming of the final, but the midfielder's significant head injury against Chelsea leaves his participation at Villa Park in major doubt.

Masked audition for Gibbs-White

According to the Nottingham Post, Gibbs-White has been measured for a protective face mask as he races to be fit for the upcoming European decider. He was left bloodied and required stitches after sustaining a horror gash to his forehead during the 3-1 win at Chelsea on Monday. Head coach Vitor Pereira confirmed the player has taken steps to protect the injury, jokingly telling the media: "I think so, but I don’t know the colour! I think yesterday he went to make the mask." Forest are desperate to have their talisman available as they look to protect their one-goal aggregate lead.

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Premier League

Late decisions at the City Ground

Pereira is prepared to wait until the final moments before committing to his starting XI for the trip to Villa Park. The Portuguese tactician faces a selection headache with several key players currently nursing knocks. Assessing the situation, Pereira added on Gibbs-White: "He has pain, for sure. We will see. We have until tomorrow to see if he is able or not. We will see. It is a big question. This is not a question for me, it is a decision between the player, the medical department and myself. But we didn’t (yet) have the last meeting to decide."

Fitness concerns across the squad

The injury list does not end there, as Forest juggle fitness concerns over several first-team regulars including Murillo, Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare, and Dan Ndoye. Pereira was coy on their availability but insisted the team's identity must remain identical regardless of who starts. He added: "Not because I have doubt about Morgan, but because I have doubt about the injured players, I will delay my decisions. But in my mind I have plan A, B and C. We have a lot of (injury) doubts. We can have doubts about the players (who might be fit), but we cannot have doubts about the spirit, about what we want, about how we believe, about resilience, about what we should do tactically. This is something we cannot doubt."

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Looking ahead to the final

Pereira will finalise his vital selections following a late training session on Wednesday as the squad prepares to defend their 1-0 advantage. If Forest successfully navigate past Villa, they will advance to the Europa League final to face either SC Freiburg or Braga, with the Portuguese side currently holding a 2-1 first-leg lead.