It has been an incredibly frustrating season for Nottingham Forest fans so far with hopes of promotion vanishing faster by the week.

At the moment the Reds sit in 11th place with just eight matches to play and three points behind Aston Villa who currently occupy the final spot in the play-off places.

But you can bet that Martin O’Neill is not giving up on a long awaited Premier League return until it is mathematically impossible and rightly so.

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And they were handed another boost in their quest when centre-back Tobias Figueiredo returned to training after a spell on the sidelines.

Signed in the summer, the Portuguese has gone on to make just 13 appearances and has been sidelined since boxing day through injury.

It is a welcome return without a doubt, but will it have much of an impact? I think so.

Thanks to Aitor Karanka and Martin O’Neill’s exuberance in the transfer window, Forest already have the likes of Michael Hefele, Molla Wague and Michael Dawson as back up to the impressive pairing of Alex Milosevic and Yohan Benalouane.

But none have shown as much quality as Figueiredo.

Since joining, initially on loan last season, the 25-year-old averages over seven successful clearances per game, four aerial duels and all with a pass completion average of 75%.

He will still have plenty of improving to do but is surely the best back-up if either of the current pair pick up a knock.