Injury scare for Eric Chelle as Super Eagles star suffers knock in Nottingham Forest vs Exeter clash

Super Eagles forward, Taiwo Awoniyi, suffered a heavy clash of heads with Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth during Nottingham Forest's FA Cup encounter, Soccernet.ng reports.

Awoniyi, who started ahead of Chris Wood, made an impact by scoring his first FA Cup goal in four appearances and his second in 22 games for Forest this season.

The Nigeria international extended the lead for Nuno Espírito Santo’s men after receiving a pass from Ibrahim Sangaré and unleashing a brilliant strike from the edge of the box.

However, later in the game, Awoniyi suffered a serious injury and had to be stretchered off. Nottingham Forest later confirmed on their social media page that the striker sustained a broken nose.

“Nuno [Espirito Santo] has confirmed that Taiwo Awoniyi sustained a broken nose following an aerial collision in tonight's cup tie. Wishing you a speedy recovery, T,” the club stated.

Nuno has confirmed that Taiwo Awoniyi sustained a broken nose following an aerial collision in tonight's cup tie.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, T! pic.twitter.com/1cLRMWNRI3

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 11, 2025

Awoniyi was replaced by Wood, who played a crucial role in the penalty shootout, which ended 3-2 in favour of Nottingham Forest which secured their place in the last 16 of the competition against Ipswich Town.

Nigeria will face Rwanda and Zimbabwe in March for crucial World Cup qualifiers, and Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle will be hoping for Awoniyi’s swift recovery to have a fully equipped squad for the must-win clashes.