Steve Cooper rules Nottingham Forest player out of Man City clash

Steve Cooper has confirmed Orel Mangala won’t be available for Nottingham Forest when they face Manchester City on Wednesday.

It’s the first time the clubs have met in the top flight since 1995, and it’s their first fixture since Forest completed an FA Cup third-round shock in 2009 and beat City 3-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium.

A lot has changed at both clubs since then, and Forest have marked their return to the Premier League with an incredible 18 summer signings.

One of those is Mangala, who joined from Stuttgart in July, but missed the weekend loss to Tottenham Hotspur due to injury.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Cooper revealed that the midfielder will still be absent for the trip to the Etihad.

“We’re as we were before the Spurs game,” he said. “It’s going to be a busy week with three games in a week, a bit of a Championship week, really. We’re looking forward to it.

“It’s nothing serious,” Cooper added, when asked about Mangala. “It’s a hamstring injury which is a bit inconclusive of when he will come back. It’s more days and weeks rather than any longer than that.

“We have to be a little bit careful with it being a hamstring. I saw him out on the grass running which is obviously a step forward, with the physios, not with us. We’ll see where we are by the end of the week with it, and the sooner he can be back available, the better for us.

Defenders Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards will also miss the trip to Manchester through injury, while Jesse Lingard will come up against his old foes on Wednesday, as will on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Renan Lodi, who played against City in the Champions League last season, could make his Forest debut after he joined on loan from Atletico Madrid on Monday.