Nottingham Forest has filed an appeal against the Premier League’s decision not to include Steve Cook in their 25-man squad.
The club hoped to be granted permission to bring the former Bournemouth man back into their ranks as they sought to address a defensive crisis.
Nottingham Forest is appealing the Premier League’s decision to reject their application to reinstate Steve Cook into their 25-man squad.
The defender missed the cut when the Reds submitted their list after the January window closed. But the club wants him back in as they cope with an injury crisis at the back.
A request was submitted to the governing body for him to replace Willy Boly, who is facing at least three months on the sidelines with the hamstring problem he sustained in last weekend’s defeat to Fulham. And although that has been turned down, Forest insists the rules permit such a change.
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“We applied and it got rejected, so now we’ve appealed,” head coach Steve Cooper said after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City. “We can’t understand why it’s been rejected, looking at the rules and some things which have gone on in previous years. We’re hopeful the appeal is successful.
“I’m hoping for news this week. Or, hopefully, they’ll follow the rules and we’ll be fine.”
Scott McKenna, who suffered a hamstring injury at the same time as Boly in the game at Craven Cottage, will be out for six weeks, while Moussa Niakhate is still out as he recovers from his own hamstring problem, which has kept him out since August. Cooper is now left with only Joe Worrall and Felipe as fit center-backs.
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The Welshman had been confident of being granted approval over Cook when speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. At the time, he said he “expected” to get the green light.
“When you read the rules and you look at it, then yes, we were surprised (at the decision). Maybe I shouldn’t have sounded as confident as I did, but it’s happened before on many occasions,” Cooper said.
“There’s a lot of things I could say, but I’m not going to. Hopefully, we will get the written reasons from the Premier League. We’ll remind them of the rules they wrote, and hopefully, we’ll be okay with it.”
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