Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has confirmed that Rodrigo Ely is set to step up his recovery from injury by featuring for the club's Under-23 side next week in their clash with West Bromwich Albion.

Signed by the Reds last month, the Brazilian defender has yet to make an appearance for Forest in the Championship.

After initially being ruled out of action due to a quad injury, Ely suffered a setback in his rehabilitation as he picked up a knock to his ankle.

In Ely's absence, Forest have managed to illustrate some real signs of promise in the Championship in recent weeks following Cooper's appointment.

The Reds managed to seal maximum points in their clashes with Barnsley, Birmingham City, Blackpool and Bristol City before suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham last weekend.

Cooper will be hoping that his side will be able to bounce back from their recent setback by delivering an impressive performance against Queens Park Rangers on Friday.

Ahead of this particular clash, the Forest boss shared an update on Ely.

Speaking to the Nottingham Post about the defender, Cooper said: "Rodrigo will play next Monday for the Under-23s.

"That’s going to be an important step for his return to play, because he’s been out for a long time and has had a couple of setbacks since he’s been here, which have set him back a week or so.

"He’s trained for a couple of weeks now.

"It will be good for him to play on Monday - and it’s a game I’ll be at as well, all being well.

 

 

"I’ve inherited the situation a little bit, but he did have a longer term injury not so long before, and recovered just before he returned.

"But then he had a bit of a slight quad injury.

"When you’ve been out for a long time, it’s normal that you pick up niggles.

"And then he had a bang on his ankle, which set him back for four or five days.

"He’s been really unfortunate, really.

"He’s been in training a few weeks now, and this game on Monday will come at the right time for him."

The Verdict

This is unquestionably a boost for Forest as Ely will be determined to deliver the goods in the Championship after securing a move to the City Ground last month.

Whilst it may take some time for Ely to adjust to life in the second-tier due to the fact that he has never played in this division before, he does possess a wealth of experience at senior level and thus will fancy his chances of eventually achieving a relative amount of success at this level with the Reds.

Providing that Ely is able to avoid another injury setback on Monday, he could potentially be in contention to make his debut for Forest's first-team in November.

Ely's availability may also force fellow central-defenders Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna and Tobias Figueiredo to step up their performance levels which could have a positive impact on Forest's fortunes in the Championship.