“It was for T” – Nottingham Forest captain dedicates vital win to recovering Awoniyi

Nottingham Forest captain, Morgan Gibbs-White, dedicated his goal against West Ham United to teammate and Super Eagles striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, revealing the Nigerian inspired the rest of the team, Soccernet.ng reports.

Awoniyi suffered a nasty collision with the woodwork in Forest's 2-2 draw against Leicester City and continued the game while in intense pain. After the game, the 27-year-old was wheeled to a hospital following a ruptured intestine.

Things got serious very quickly when the ex-Union Berlin striker had an emergency surgery and the aftermath saw him placed into an induced coma for the operation to be successful.

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This one's for you, T. pic.twitter.com/0R6vNt2NmJ

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 18, 2025

Ahead of Forest's game against West Ham United at the London Stadium, Nuno Espirito Santo's side donned shirts with the caption – “We're all with you, Taiwo”, in a bid to support the recovery of their injured teammate, and to give him an emotional uprise.

The two-time UEFA Champions League winners won the game, thanks to first-half goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic although Jarrod Bowen tried to stage a late comeback for the Hammers.

Gibbs-White dedicated his goal to Awoniyi, and revealed after the game that the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner inspired their victory against Graham Potter's side today.

“It's incredible, especially with how this past week has gone and with everything that's happened, we knew we had to do it for T today, and the three points today were for him.

“He's on a good road to recovery now, everything went well as can be, and that performance out there was for him.

“He gave us a nice message before the game and that was nice to see, saying that he's right behind us and yes, it's been a a really difficult week to take but we're delighted with the three points and even more happy that he's okay,” the England midfielder said in his post-match interview.

Quizzed about how the dressing response to Awoniyi's critical condition was, the team captain revealed they were deflated and feared for he worst.

“It's horrible and you wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy. Our first day back in was Wednesday and the whole place was just lifeless which was expected, and it wasn't a good feeling, but when we got the good news that he was out of it, it sort of lifted everyone's fighting spirits.

“He showed how much of a fighter he was and inspired us to fight today for him. We have one more game left, I'm sure he'll be supporting us to go through with a win,” Gibbs-White concluded.

The reaction of the football world to Awoniyi's condition has been nothing short of surreal. Forest can make the Nigerian proud if they seal three points against Chelsea next week.

A win against Enzo Maresca's side will most likely mean Forest will play in the UEFA Champions League next season.