News conferences – Klopp waits on Salah injury update

Author: BBC Sport

BBCCopyright: BBC

In fairness to Ivan Toney, issues around his suspension have not affected his return.

The frontman said: “I always kept on top of things. I didn’t let it go away and try to chase it.”

But this is backed up by reality, as there was not much of an acclimatisation process needed when he returned to training in September.

Toney came back to the training ground as soon as he could, with Brentford adopting a deliberate policy of getting him to play a certain number of games, moving up towards 90 minutes, all tailored to getting him as prepared as possible for the Forest game.

Club officials observed Toney was in remarkably good shape for his first training game in October, even though it would be another three and a half months before he could play in a ‘proper’ match.

Toney’s hat-trick for Brentford B against Southampton in a match behind closed doors on 6 January suggested the ‘pre-season programme’ has worked perfectly.

The only times when Toney has had to work on his own were during international weeks or when the first team were preparing for a midweek match. That time has been put to good use on individual training drills. Throughout this, manager Frank has remained a point of contact.

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