Chris Wood has scored 18 goals for Nottingham Forest this season (Photo: Getty) Chris Wood has not been ruled out of Nottingham Forest’s Premier League clash with Manchester United after the star striker suffered a ‘very painful’ injury on international duty. The Kiwi has been in sensational form this season with 18 goals in the league, a tally bettered only by Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak. His efforts have helped Forest, who were tipped for relegation at the start of the season, up to third in the table as the run-in begins, with fans dreaming of Champions League qualification. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, defeating Brighton on penalties on Saturday, but Wood played no part in the match. The 33-year-old limped off the pitch during New Zealand’s win over New Caledonia in World Cup qualifying last week after landing awkwardly and appearing to injury his hip. Though the ‘initial prognosis was fairly positive’, Wood was quickly ruled out of the FA Cup clash but there’s a quick turnaround, with Forest welcoming United to the City Ground on Tuesday night. Speaking after the win at the Amex, Santo was unwilling to put a timescale on the striker’s return, but said the injury was ‘not good’ and hinted that his talisman could be out for some time. Wood suffered a hip injury while playing for New Zealand (Photo: Getty) ‘Let’s wait and see. It is going to be day by day we have to assess him,’ the manager sad. ‘It is all about the pain he has. It was a big impact on his hip and it is very painful. ‘We have to assess him. We are gutted that Chris is not here with us. Forest lost Morgan Gibbs-White, left, to injury in the FA Cup win over Brighton – but he was fit enough to join the celebrations (Photo: Getty) ‘I cannot answer that [if Wood will be fit to play United]. I don’t know, I’m not sure. It is going to be day by day.’ In Wood’s absence, Taiwo Awoniyi started up top against Brighton but the former Liverpool man has scored just one league goal this season. In more worrying news, Forest and England midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White also picked up an injury in the cup win after colliding with the post and was forced to come off shortly before the penalty shootout. ‘We are going to assess him. He had a big contact against the post. His leg was not OK and he was struggling,’ Nuno added. ‘In the final minutes, you saw we were suffering. We were on the ropes, so we decided to turn to Morato to see if we could hold on for penalties.’ With five goals and seven assists, Gibbs-White is fundamental to Forest and his absence would certainly harm their Champions League aspirations. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.