Oliver Glasner has ruled two players out of Nottingham Forest's opening Premier League match against Leeds United.
Oliver Glasner is in the midst of final preparations for his first competitive game as Nottingham Forest head coach.
Forest welcome Leeds United to the City Ground on Saturday for both sides' Premier League opener, and Glasner's first competitive outing as Forest boss.
Throughout pre-season, the squad have been adjusting to the new head coach's system, which is vastly different from his predecessor.
So far, they have done this well, but Glasner has insisted that there is still a way to go for them to get to the level he expects.
Forest's squad is large, especially for a team not competing in Europe, and it means that several players will have to miss out on the match day squad.
Two of those tough calls have already been made for Glasner, however, after he revealed that two players – Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona – remain sidelined with injuries.
"[The injury list is] Ryan Yates and [Nicolo] Savona," he revealed. "These two players won't make the match day squad."
Savona completing gym work
Glasner offered a specific update on Savona, confessing that he had been expected to be further along in his recovery from a serious knee injury.
"To be honest, we thought he should be further along than he is now," Glasner revealed, "He had a minor setback to be honest, his knee reacted on the load more than we wanted the knee to react.
"So we had to make a step back, so now he's working in the gym again, preparing his knee to go back on the grass. It will take a couple of weeks, I guess."
More players to miss out
Over the course of pre-season, Glasner has given plenty of minutes across his entire squad, and some academy talents, by often fielding a separate starting line-up in each half in friendlies.
It means that the new head coach has a much better understanding of his squads ability and potential limitations heading into the new season.
"We still have 23 fit, on-field players, and mathematics means that five more players can't make the match day squad," he admitted.
"We still have a very big squad, but everybody had the chance during pre-season to show that they can help the team win games, and then I have to take a decision tomorrow [about who will miss out]."
Last week, Forest played a behind-closed-doors friendly against Coventry City before their final pre-season friendly against Stade Brestois, a 2-0 win at the City Ground.
The typical "big-hitters" mostly featured in the behind-closed-doors game, leaving the logical conclusion that those who miss out will likely have been in the squad that beat Brest.
Saturday's game will mark a new era for Nottingham Forest, and Glasner will be keen to get off to a winning start, but there is a short turnaround before Tuesday night's Carabao Cup second-round tie.
Coincidentally, this game is also at home to Leeds United. Forest are entering the competition one round earlier this season, having entered in round three last term owing to their inclusion in the Europa League.
