Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw against Leicester on Sunday was overshadowed by a post-match incident in which Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed the pitch to, what seemed, lambast the Forest boss, Nuno Espírito Santo.
The topic of discussion is now believed to be regarding strike Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury, after the forward collided with the post just minutes after entering the field as a late substitution following Facundo Buonanotte’s equaliser for the Foxes.
Awoniyi, 27, was treated by the medical staff for multiple minutes as the game began to close out, but the Nigeria international stayed on the pitch for the rest of the game despite being in visible discomfort.
It has now been revealed that the striker was rushed to hospital on Monday for 'emergency surgery' on an abdominal injury.
Taiwo Awoniyi suffered the injury in the latter stages, prompting Evangelos Marinakis' on-field outburstPAIt is reported that Marinakis was concerned about the medical staff’s handling of the injury, as opposed to remonstrating with the manager.
Forest had already used all of their substitutions, meaning they were unable to replace Awoniyi which is why the forward stayed on the pitch, but the extent of his injury has only just been revealed.
After the game, boss Nuno said: “It was disappointing for everybody. Unfortunately, we had to play the last 10 minutes with one man less.
JUST IN: Emma Raducanu thrashed by Coco Gauff to end Italian Open dream despite play being temporarily halted
There was visible concern for both players following the incidentPA“Taiwo gave it a go but it was too painful for him to really push and help the team. There was a misunderstanding between the coaching staff and the medical department.
“We had the heads up to make a sub, then Taiwo tried but he could not [run fully].
“[We feel] disappointment and frustration of course.”
READ MORE: Christian Horner 'on the verge' of Red Bull sack amid civil war with two replacements touted
Nuno was also quick to defend his employer’s actions, insisting: “It is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He pushes us.
“He wants us to be better. It is his passion and desire to be a big club.
“30,000 people felt the same today. For sure, many of them would go on the pitch and shake us down. Us as a club, we owe a lot to the Marinakis family.”
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
- Rory McIlroy shows true colours as golf star sends brilliant gift ahead of PGA Championship
- 'I used to be a Premier League goal machine but I dropped to non-league to escape the politics'
- Rio Ferdinand, 46, says he was close to 'lights out' after Man United icon was hospitalised
Nuno Espirito Santo and Evangelos Marinakis exchange words after a 2-2 draw with Leicester Getty Shortly after the game, Marinakis was also quick to explain the incident in a statement, saying he was ‘frustrated around the injury of Taiwo [Awoniyi]’, while adding there was a ‘misjudgement’ by the medical staff.
Pundits were quick to share their views on the incident, with Gary Neville describing it as ‘scandalous’ and saying that Nuno should ‘negotiate his exit’ at the club on his X account.
Harry Redknapp also told BetVictor: “The less said about the incident with the owner the better, I’d have told him to get off the park!”
It was a crucial points dropped in the end for Forest in their quest for the Champions League, in which they have recently dropped down the pecking order and now require other results to go their way.
They still have to travel to West Ham before hosting Chelsea, who currently occupy the final Champions League spot.
