Forest waiting to hear whether Cook can be added to squad

Nottingham Forest are still waiting to hear whether they will be able to add Steve Cook to their 25-man Premier League squad.

The centre-half was left out of the revised squad list after the January transfer window but then Forest applied to have him added after injuries to Scott McKenna and Willy Boly left them short in defence.

The governing body rejected the application but Forest have appealed and have not been told the outcome yet.

Forest boss Steve Cooper is hopeful he will have the 31-year-old available for Saturday’s trip to West Ham.

“We’ve not heard yet. We’re still hopeful,” Cooper said at his press conference.

“If something comes through before the weekend, then that could help. We’ve got our fingers crossed.

“You’d hope (to hear before the weekend). But we’ll stick to the process and see what comes of it.”

Forest’s injury crisis got worse during last weekend’s impressive 1-1 draw with Manchester City as Serge Aurier limped off with a calf problem.

The former Tottenham right-back, who can also fill in at centre-half, ruled himself out for two weeks but Cooper says it might be a little bit longer.

“Serge is added to the injury list. He’s going to be out for three to four weeks as well,” Cooper added.

“It’s just one of those things that we constantly have to get on with. I say it every week, we would like it to be a different situation, but my focus is just on the guys who can play at West Ham on Saturday.”

Forest also have Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring), Moussa Niakhate (hamstring), Omar Richards (hairline fracture of the leg) and Giulian Biancone (ACL) on the sidelines.

But Cooper said: “There’s always light; we’re not despondent or negative. We’ve had a great training week.

“Of course you’d like a different situation with player availability, but that’s not the case. We’re not going to dwell on it too much.”