Nuno Espirito Santo heralded the “beautiful” moment that Danilo made his return from injury after seeing his Nottingham Forest side secure a comfortable 2-0 FA Cup win over Luton Town.
The Brazilian made his first appearance since suffering a broken leg on the opening day of the Premier League campaign against Bournemouth at the City Ground.
The moments when Danilo first went to warm up on the touchline and when he was finally brought on, as an 85th-minute substitute, prompted two of the loudest cheers from the stands.
Head coach Nuno said that seeing 23-year-old Danillo — who has been back in training for several weeks — return was a lift for everyone.
“It was beautiful. Beautiful. When he came to the touchline, immediately all our fans started to sing and that was beautiful,” said Nuno in his post-match press conference.
“It is good to have him around. He is not 100 percent yet, you can see. But slowly, he can become a good option for us.”
Nuno changed his entire starting XI for the visit of Championship Luton and saw Ryan Yates and Ramon Sosa net the vital goals to book their place in the fourth round.
“It is important for the players to play; for us to reward them. I think they enjoyed themselves,” said Nuno.
“For many it was their first time playing together. But they performed in a very professional way. We were organised. Some things did not flow so good, but that is normal.
“The important thing was that we wanted to continue (in the competition) and we did that in a nice way.”
Nuno celebrated winning his second manager of the month award of the season by having his picture taken with most of the City Ground staff earlier this week.
And he says that sense of togetherness and unity will be a vital asset, as they look to sustain their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League and to make progress in the cup.
“Today, the way the fans were singing, it shows that we, the fans and the city: We wall want the same. I believe that if everyone is together, we can be stronger,” he said.
Forest return to action against league leaders Liverpool on Tuesday.
(Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
