Chris Wood: Nottingham Forest return much closer than expected as striker could feature for B team

Chris Wood may be ready for selection much sooner than anticipated as the Nottingham Forest striker prepares for a long-awaited return.

Reports are emerging that the New Zealand international could feature for Forest's B team against Newcastle United on Friday, 20 March, having come on leaps and bounds recently.

Vitor Pereira appears very confident that the striker will be involved for the first team in the end-of-season run-in, which could be key as the Reds battle against Premier League relegation.

Wood has been Forest's main injury concern this season, with Nicolo Savona and Jair Cunha being the other worries in the centre of defence at the City Ground.

Chris Wood set to play for Nottingham Forest B team

Should Wood be able to get some valuable minutes in the tank against the Magpies, a return to the first-team squad is unlikely to be much further away for the 34-year-old.

Despite being a veteran player, the striker appears to have aged like a fine wine with the Reds, having notched 20 goals and three assists in 40 games during the 2024-25 campaign.

Before suffering an injury back in October, while he had failed to find the same form, he still had three goals in nine appearances, including one in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland.

Mick Brown told Football Insider that Pereira is afraid of losing Igor Jesus in the summer, rubbing more salt into the wounds, so a timely return for Wood is highly anticipated at the City Ground.

Vitor Pereira could get Igor Tudor sacked at Tottenham

Although the 34-year-old striker is highly unlikely to be ready to face Tottenham on Sunday, 22 March, the manager will still be praying for a win, and it could have dire consequences in North London.

Igor Tudor is under crushing pressure, having won just one of his first six games in charge, potentially having just one match left to save himself from being sacked, Football Insider have revealed.

It is certainly a relegation six-pointer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a win for the Reds moving them three points away from the dropzone, with West Ham facing Aston Villa at Villa Park.

The relegation battle is likely to go right down to the wire, but if Pereira's players can put everything into beating Spurs, it should relax some of the fears ahead of the final seven games of the season.