Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi in induced coma after surgery on abdominal injury suffered in Premier League match against Leicester
Published 14/05/2025 at 07:38 GMT+1
Taiwo Awoniyi received treatment on the field at the City Ground after colliding with the post as he attempted to score a late winner for Nottingham Forest against Leicester in the Premier League. He played on until the end of the game but was taken to hospital when his condition worsened. Awoniyi was found to have a serious abdominal injury which required immediate surgery.
Taiwo Awoniyi
Image credit: Getty Images
Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi is in an induced coma after having "urgent" surgery on an abdominal injury he suffered during last weekend’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester.
The Nigeria international collided with the post as he attempted to score a late winner for his side.
Awoniyi received lengthy treatment on the pitch, but due to Forest having used their three substitution windows, he was forced to play on.
A deterioration of his condition after the match saw Awoniyi taken to hospital, where he remains after having surgery on Monday.
There has been backlash since the incident, as Awoniyi was in an offside position during the phase of play leading up to the collision but the assistant referee did not raise their flag until after the ball was dead.
This is in line with officiating guidelines, with assistants told to keep their flag down until the passage of play has come to an end.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis took to the pitch at the end of the game and was seen speaking to manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
The club say the Greek businessman was concerned with how Awoniyi’s injury was handled, and that speculation of him having a public disagreement with Nuno is "fake news".
In a club statement, the medical team was criticised saying there is a "shared frustration" because they "should never have allowed the player to continue".
"The truth of the matter is there was no confrontation, with Nuno or with others, either on the pitch or inside the stadium," the statement read.
"We urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context."
Forest called the reaction and coverage of the situation "baseless and ill-informed outrage".
"At Nottingham Forest, we believe the mental and physical well-being of our players and coaching staff must always take precedence — over media narratives, inflammatory judgements, and certainly over self-promotion."
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