Injured Wood out of Forest FA Cup quarter final against Brighton

LONDON – Nottingham Forest are flying high in the English Premier League this season, lying in third place as they chase Champions League football for next season.

Star striker Chris Wood has played a huge role in their surprising season, but manager Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed on March 27 that his team will be without the 1.91m New Zealander when they travel to Brighton Hove Albion on March 29 for their FA Cup quarter-final clash.

Wood, who has been in excellent form this season with 18 goals for Forest in the Premier League, suffered an injury while on international duty.

Said Nuno: “He went for a scan today, we are still waiting. He has been to a specialist for a scan. We will wait on the information and see.

“He will not be available for this game. He felt a kick really hard on his hip, so there is pain there. We have to wait.”

Wood will be a big miss, particularly because he netted a hat-trick when Forest thrashed Brighton 7-0 in the Premier League when they last met in February.

The 33-year-old helped New Zealand qualify for the 2026 World Cup during the international break, claiming another treble against Fiji in a 7-0 demolition, but the captain limped off during the 3-0 win over New Caledonia on March 24.

Although Wood has yet to score in the FA Cup, he had netted in both their penalty shoot-out wins over Exeter City and Ipswich Town, stepping up to take Forest’s first spot kick on both occasions.

As players return from international duty, Nuno said he was still waiting to see if there are any other injury concerns.

“Every time there is an international break, we have to assess. Many of them just arrived today (March 27). We are still