- Taiwo Awoniyi broke his silence after his surgery to repair a ruptured intestine
- His Nottingham Forest team-mates paid tribute to him before facing West Ham
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Taiwo Awoniyi issued an update on his horror injury in an uplifting statement ahead of Nottingham Forest‘s clash against West Ham on Sunday.
Awoniyi was put in an induced coma earlier this week, and is recovering well after undergoing urgent surgery to repair a ruptured intestine, which could have been life-threating.
The striker crashed into a post during Forest’s 2-2 draw with Leicester last week and, following several minutes of treatment, returned to action before being taken off.
Awoniyi could not be substituted because Forest had used their last available switch to replace Elliot Anderson with Jota Silva. The forward tried to carry on, but was unable to move properly as Forest chased a late winner.
Nuno Espirito Santo revealed before Sunday’s game that Awoniyi will remain in hospital for at least a few more days, meaning he was unable to journey to east London in support of his team-mates.
But that didn’t stop him from sending his best wishes from a distance, as the Nigerian frontman wished his team-mates well for their final two games of the season in a statement on social media.
Taiwo Awoniyi released a statement from hospital as he recovers from his recent surgery
The striker was put in an induced coma and had urgent surgery to repair a ruptured intestine
Forest’s players made a touching gesture to Awoniyi as they warmed up to face West Ham
Awoniyi wrote: ‘This season has been one of the most difficult of my career but through it all, I have felt the love. 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.’
Before facing West Ham, Forest’s squad warmed up in blank white shirts, with the words, ‘We’re all with you Taiwo’ on the front, and Awoniyi’s name and No 9 on the back.
After Morgan Gibbs-White opened the scoring in the game, he held up Awoniyi’s shirt in celebration.
Morgan Gibbs-White dedicated his celebration to Awoniyi as he opened the scoring on Sunday
Forest’s players donned Awoniyi’s name and number on the back of their warmup shirts, with a heartfelt message on the front
In Awoniyi’s late absence against Leicester, Forest were left to play the last few minutes with 10 men, which led to owner appeared Evangelos Marinakis taking issue with Nuno at full-time.
Forest released a statement after the fact, clarifying that ‘there was no confrontation’ between their owner and manager, but a ‘shared frustration that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue’.
After spending most of the season in the top five, Forest have slipped out of the Champions League spots – even though last weekend’s disappointing result against Leicester at least guaranteed they would compete in European football for the first time this century.
Even two victories at this stage of the competition might not be enough, as they now must rely on their opponents to drop points.
