Danilo has returned to training with Nottingham Forest, as he continues his recovery from a broken ankle.
While the midfielder is still weeks away from a first-team return, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says it has been a “joy” to see him joining in with the rest of the squad.
Forest’s players trained on the City Ground pitch today, ahead of the visit of Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Nuno says the Brazilian took advantage of the other players being warned not to make physical contact with him, by performing ‘like Maradona’.
“Danilo. We are so happy because he did all of the training session. You cannot believe the joy that this inspired. To see him and the joy of his teammates, at having him around. It was lovely to see,” said Nuno in his pre-match press conference.
“We played a game and I said to the other players ‘nobody can touch Danilo’. So he looked like he was Maradona. Nobody could touch him so he was running through and scoring…
“Just to have him around was so nice. We missed him so much. All these players are so important. But it is so good to have people like him back around, back with the group and playing football. That smile is contagious.”
Danilo suffered his break on the opening day of the season, early in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the City Ground.
Ibrahim Sangare, who has been recovering from a serious hamstring injury, has also been doing light work on the training ground but is not as close to a return as Danilo.
“There is no way that he (Danilo) will be involved this weekend, he is still a long way away,” said Nuno. “Danilo is closer than Ibrahim, unfortunately for Ibrahim he is going to take a little longer.
“His (Sangare’s) injury is very delicate. Following the surgery he had, we do not want to risk any setback. We have to be patient.”
Forest also have injury doubts over Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), Elliot Anderson (foot), and Anthony Elanga (shoulder). All three will be assessed tomorrow before a decision is made on whether they can play a part this weekend.
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What would Danilo’s return mean for Forest and head coach Nuno?
Over the summer, Nuno’s plan was for Danilo and Sangare to form the deeper-lying midfield duo within his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
It was felt that the physical presence of Sangare and Danilo’s composure on the ball and own combative nature would be a good combination in front of the back four.
But by the end of August, Nuno was missing both men through injury, with Sangare playing only three Premier League games before succumbing to his own (hamstring) injury.
Players like Ryan Yates, Anderson, Nico Dominguez and James Ward-Prowse have all produced impressive performances in their absence.
But having started the season with six strong midfield options, Nuno has recently found himself with only three, with Anderson also struggling to overcome the niggling foot injury he picked up against Crystal Palace.
It is still likely to be several weeks – perhaps even until after Christmas – before Danilo is ready for a first-team return.
But Danilo is one of the most positive, upbeat characters in the Forest dressing room and even having him back around the group on a daily basis will genuinely be a boost to morale among the squad.
When he is ready to play, he will provide another valuable option, as Forest look to continue their positive start to the campaign.
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