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Nottingham Forest to make late call on Morgan Gibbs-White availability in UEL semifinal second leg

Nottingham Forest will leave it as late as possible to make a call on whether Morgan Gibbs-White will play in their Europa League semifinal against Aston Villa on Thursday.

Gibbs-White was forced off with a nasty head injury in the second half of Forest's 3-1 win over Chelsea on Monday. The England international sustained a deep cut to his forehead after clashing heads with Robert Sánchez, with the resulting wound needing several stitches.

Forest manager Vitor Pereira said post-match he didn't think Gibbs-White had sustained a concussion in the incident, but said the medical department would need to work "magic" to get him fit in time for the semifinal at Villa Park on Thursday.

And speaking at the pre-match news conference on Wednesday, Pereira said on Gibbs-White's availability: "We'll see. We'll see tomorrow [Thursday], if he's able to play or not. It is not a question for me; it's a decision between the player and medical department.

"We will have a last meeting to decide. We have a plan with him and without him."

Gibbs-White has excelled under Pereira, with seven goals since the start of March. He was left out of Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad, but the manager was there on Monday at Stamford Bridge to check on the progress of several World Cup hopefuls.

Forest hold a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of the Europa League semifinal thanks to Chris Wood's penalty at the City Ground last week.

- Morgan Gibbs-White, Jesse Derry withdrawn with head injuries in Forest win over Chelsea
- Chelsea's season of gloom hits new low in home defeat to resurgent Forest

"We're enjoying it a lot, the club is back in European football," Forest centre back Nikola Milenkovic said. "The fans have given us really big support, and this bond between players, coach and staff has been important for us. Tomorrow is a really important game, we must be prepared.

"The best feeling in football is fighting for a trophy, but the best feeling is winning the trophy. Every player must give everything to help get Nottingham to the final. At the beginning of the season we set the highest ambition possible, we're now on a good run and believe in ourselves."