Glasner confirms Savona and Yates unavailable for Nottingham Forest's Premier League opener vs Leeds
Nottingham Forest head coach Oliver Glasner confirmed that Nicolo Savona and Ryan Yates will not be involved in the club’s Premier League 2026-27 opener against Leeds United at the City Ground on Saturday. Glasner issued the update ahead of what will be his competitive debut in charge of Forest.
Glasner described Savona and Yates as the biggest absentees for the home fixture, with Savona having been sidelined since January after undergoing knee surgery. The defender is 23 years old and has missed the end of the previous Premier League campaign because of that operation. Glasner also said the other absence, Yates, is due to an unspecified issue rather than a named injury.
On squad selection Glasner acknowledged the constraints he faces, saying: “Ryan Yates and Savona won’t make the matchday squad. But we still have 23 fit players, which means five can’t make the squad,” and added, “Everyone has had a chance to show through pre-season that they can help the team in winning games and I have to take a decision by tomorrow.”
Glasner outlined Savona’s recovery status, confirming the Italian has returned to training but suffered a setback in his rehabilitation. He said: “We thought he would be further than where he is now. He had a minor setback after his knee reacted more with the load than we wanted,” Glasner said. “…I think it will take a couple of weeks.”
The club captain, Ryan Yates, missed the final pre-season selection despite participating for 45 minutes in a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen; he did not feature in the matchday squad for the final preparatory game against Stade Brestois. Glasner did not provide further detail on the nature of Yates’s problem when confirming he would miss the Leeds match.
Forest will host Leeds United at the City Ground on Saturday, and Glasner must finalise his matchday squad from 23 available players, meaning five players will be left out of the selected group for the opener.
