Sabri Lamouchi has moved to provide an update on the fitness of midfielder Tiago Silva, ahead of this weekend's clash with Cardiff City at the City Ground.

Silva is yet to make an appearance for Forest this season after suffering with injury, after missing a large part of pre-season too.

The 27-year-old made 47 appearances across all competitions for Forest last season, proving to be a key player in their bid for promotion to the Premier League.

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The Portuguese playmaker has been struggling with an ankle problem in the early stages of this season, though, and will miss this weekend's clash with the Bluebirds.

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live ahead of their clash with Cardiff this weekend, Lamouchi admitted that Silva is making progress, but still needs time to recover and get back to full fitness.

He said: "Tiago is close. He started to run on Wednesday, but he needs time."

Excluding Silva, Forest are likely to have a fully-fit squad to choose from this weekend as they prepare to take on Cardiff on Trentside.

Joe Lolley and Joe Worrall both returned from brief spells on the sidelines against QPR last weekend, and will be available for selection against the Bluebirds.

The Verdict

Lamouchi will look forward to having Silva back available and fit for the remainder of the season.

He missed a small portion of the latter stages of last season, and has been unlucky not to feature this term.

He was a key player for the Reds last term and gives them that creative spark in the middle of the park, and he will be eager to return as quickly as possible.