By Kayode John
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has welcomed back Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina after they and their Super Eagles teammates were subjected to a traumatic experience by Libyan authorities during the international break.
Both Forest players were on the Nigerian flight that got diverted from Benghazi to Al Abraq International airport in Libya for the return leg of their double-header 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign.
Awoniyi and Aina featured in the first leg which ended 1-0 in Nigeria’s favour in Uyo. However, the Nigerian team got locked up at the airport in Libya without access to food, water or internet for 18 hours. They were let go after the team decided to boycott the game.
While on media duties on Friday ahead of Forest’s home game against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday, Santo said both Nigeria internationals are fine.
“They (Awoniyi and Aina) have arrived, they are working normal. As soon as it happened, the club reached them, tried to see what’s going on,” he said.
“It was a mess but it was important to get them back as soon as possible. They arrived a couple of days ago, they are working normal.”
The Portuguese coach will, however, not be in the dugout for the game, as he has been banned from the touchline for three matches, following his red card in Forest’s 2-2 draw against Brighton on September 22.
Aina has been in good form for Forest this season, starting all their seven matches so far, but Awoniyi has struggled for game time due to fitness issues.
