Hojlund out of Forest encounter

The Denmark international scored his first Premier League goal in the Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa, hooking home the winner to complete a memorable comeback in a 3-2 success at Old Trafford.

As he looked to build on that special moment, his absence was a blow for our final game of 2023, at The City Ground, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Hojlund is ill, as manager Erik ten Hag had suggested he was during the build-up to the recent fixture at West Ham United.

After scoring five times in the UEFA Champions League, the young centre-forward was clearly delighted to get off the mark at league level, with his predatory effort against Villa. However, his spot goes to Antony, with a reshuffle in the forward line, and Marcus Rashford moving central.

"It is [a blow] but that happens," the boss told Sky Sports before kick-off. "You can't avoid it so we have to deal with it.

"Rashy is a good striker he is very multifunctional, he can play all the positions across the front line. We play him there and put Garna [Alejandro Garnacho] back on the left and Antony on the right."

It is not the way that Hojlund would have wanted to end the year but he will hopefully be available again in January, with our first assignment of the month away to Wigan Athletic in the Emirates FA Cup third round (Monday 8 January).

We are not set to play again in the league until welcoming Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford on 14 January.