Nottingham Forest are currently preparing for their League One play-off semi final against Yeovil but one important absentee for Colin Calderwood's men will be striker Nathan Tyson, who is sidelined for three months after undergoing knee surgery. The former Reading and Wycombe front man required an operation to repair medial ligament damage and he will be a big loss for the club as they look to book their place in the play-off final. Forest missed out on automatic promotion on the last day of the season and Calderwood will be hoping to rally his troops ahead of the two games against the Glovers. Givemefootball's Mark Shail is the man armed with the questions.
Q:HOW LONG ARE YOU EXPECTED TO BE ON THE SIDELINES?
A:Basically, I had an operation three or four weeks ago to pin my medial ligament back down and the surgeon thinks I'll be out for around three months. The ligament actually came away from the bone so it was a tricky operation but I've been told the surgery went well.
Q:IT MUST BE FRUSTRATING FOR YOU TO MISS OUT ON THE PLAY-OFFS?
A:It is frustrating because all the players are getting excited about being in the play-offs. It's disappointing not to be involved but at the same time I've done my bit this season and now all I can do is hope the lads can get us through and back up to the Championship.
Q:HOW DID THE PLAYERS FEEL AFTER FAILING TO SECURE AUTOMATIC PROMOTION?
A:There was a lot of disappointment, not just at the club but around the whole city, especially bearing in mind we looked like running away with the league at one point. But credit to Scunthorpe who have done really well this season, while Bristol City have managed to get the points at the right times. But we're still in there with a great chance of promotion.
Q:A SLUMP IN FORM A MONTH OR SO BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON WAS PROBABLY THE DECISIVE FACTOR, WASN'T IT?
A:It's funny how football works. One minute you're playing well and winning games comfortably then all of a sudden you're struggling to find your best form. I suppose we were guilty of taking our foot off the pedal but you have to give credit to Scunthorpe and Bristol City.
Q:YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING WIDE ON THE LEFT AS WELL THIS SEASON, WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED POSITION?
A:I don't really mind. I quite enjoy playing out on the left, it was where Alan Pardew used to play me when I was at Reading. I suppose I'm more used to playing up front but towards the end of the season I was dropped so I was thankful to just be in the starting line up.
Q:WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF READING'S CAMPAIGN THIS SEASON?
A:Being a Reading lad and a former player, I still follow their results closely and they have done unbelievably well this season. I just hope they can finish things off well and get into Europe.
Q:ARE YOU PLANNING TO GO AWAY THIS SUMMER?
A:I won't be going away until June because I'll be in at the training ground every day until the end of May to do my rehab. Then I'm planning a holiday to Barbados for around ten days and after that I'll be coming back early for pre-season training. With me being back for training early, hopefully I'll be a bit sharper than all the other players.
