Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman has told BBC Radio Nottingham that he had no qualms at all about putting star man Michail Antonio back into the starting line up for Saturday's trip to Bolton Wanderers.

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Antonio is an influential member of the Forest team

The ex-Sheffield Wednesday player was withdrawn from the Forest squad that drew 0-0 with Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night, amid reports that Derby County had failed with a bid to take the player to the iPro Stadium.

The bid was rejected but boss Freedman had said that he had felt that player was not in the right frame of mind to be considered for Tuesday's game.

However, the speed merchant was named in the side that drew 1-1 with Bolton on Saturday and Freedman was happy to call upon his prized asset.

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "He (Antonio) has trained very well over the last couple of days, so it wasn't an issue at all.

"He is a grown man. He will have ups and downs - and bumps and bruises - along the way, but I had no doubt whatsoever about including him.

"I think he can perform better than he did at Bolton, so lets get that out of the way and get him back into some form."

Dougie Freedman's side currently sit in 11th place in the Sky Bet Championship, and have won once, drawn twice and lost once so far this season.

Antonio is undoubtedly one of the club's most key assets so it is no surprise to see Freedman so keen to involve him in the team, however it remains to be seen whether the ex-Reading winger will want to depart the City Ground in search of pastures new.

Forest fans... Are you hopeful that the club can keep Antonio? Is he good enough for the Premier League? What makes him so special? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!