Taiwo Awoniyi Shares Health Updates

Nigerian international Taiwo Awoniyi has issued a statement on social media after waking up from an induced coma. The Nottingham Forest striker suffered a serious abdominal injury after colliding with a post late in Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City at the City Ground last weekend. He received treatment before returning to the pitch for the final minutes of the match. Awoniyi later underwent surgery and was placed into an induced coma before undergoing another operation on Wednesday. On Sunday, Awoniyi release a statement on Instagram. It read: “This season has been one of the most difficult of my career but through it all, I have felt the love. “With the grace of God, I am grateful to still be here, to still be fighting, to still be smiling, and to be in good spirits. “To my teammates, coaches, staff and the entire Forest family, thank you for your well wishes, seeing you all on your visit to the hospital lifted my spirits more than words can say. “Wishing the boys the very best in these last two games, keep believing and keep pushing. I’m with you all the way and I can’t wait to be back out there with the boys doing what I love. “To my family, friends and football fans, thank you for the support, and to everyone back home in Nigeria who has checked in on me, prayed for me and left kind words, thank you. “I see them. I feel them. And I carry them with me every day as I recover.”

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Taiwo Awoniyi Out of Coma After Abdominal Injury

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has woken from an induced coma after he underwent surgery to repair a serious abdominal injury. The Nigerian was brought on as a late substitute when his side faced Leicester City in the Premier League last Sunday, but after colliding with the post in the closing minutes, the forward suffered a ruptured intestine. Despite the serious nature of the injury and footage showing the 27-year-old in discomfort, he played on for the remainder of the match, though he was later taken to hospital. Awoniyi had the first part of the surgery on Monday and spent Tuesday in an induced coma, before the second stage of the operation was completed on Wednesday. The striker was subsequently woken from the induced coma in the early evening after the second stage of the surgery, and Nottingham Forest will reportedly look to establish the key details around why Awoniyi was allowed back on to the field of play. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was criticised for coming onto the pitch against Leicester following the full-time whistle, but he later clarified that he only did so to express concern to manager Nuno Espirito Santo over how Awoniyi’s injury was handled. The injury that Awoniyi suffered is extremely serious, with mortality rates even in the event of surgery standing at 9%, so it is perhaps understandable that Marinakis was deeply concerned. Officials have faced criticism for allowing the passage of play that led up to Awoniyi’s injury to occur given Anthony Elanga was in a clear offside position in the buildup. The rules regarding offsides state that when a clear goalscoring opportunity is likely, assistant referees must delay raising their flag until the phase of play has concluded. While the rule would in principle prevent players from missing out on golden chances in the final third, many pundits have suggested that allowing such passages of play to develop and relying on the intervention of VAR could lead to serious injury. Perhaps the serious nature of Awoniyi’s injury will cause football’s lawmakers to reconsider their stance on when officials should flag for offside.

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