Nottingham Forest striker Matty Fryatt is back in full training with the first-team as he looks to end his injury nightmare which has seen him on the treatment table for over two years.

He last featured in a 2-1 defeat to Charlton Athletic at The Valley back in March 2015 under Dougie Freedman. Many supporters will have forgotten that Fryatt is even on the books at the club and a lot has changed in his time on the sidelines.

A promising start to his Forest spell

Fryatt made a very good start to his time at Forest after his move from Hull City who were at the time in the Premier League in the summer of 2014. Stuart Pearce was the man who signed him on a free transfer as he bolstered his squad in an attempt to mount a promotion challenge.

Before his injury, Fryatt made 17 starts and eight substitute appearances in the Championship and was able to score six goals. However, he also popped up with a handful of assists during this spell.

His good start at Forest came as no surprise as Fryatt has scored goals wherever he has been across his career. Throughout his career he has scored 27 goals for Walsall, 51 for Leicester City, 27 for Hull City and also four for Sheffield Wednesday during a short loan spell. 

Matty Fryatt did well when he played for the club. (picture: Getty Images / Martin Willetts)
Matty Fryatt did well when he played for the club. (picture: Getty Images / Martin Willetts)

Last chance to return

Fryatt finds himself out of contract at The City Ground in the summer and has a matter of months to try and persuade Mark Warburton and the management team that he might be worth a shot. 

However, he finds himself with a lot of work to do before that. He will most likely be featuring in a youth team game in the next few weeks before any consideration of Fryatt being included in the first team squad will be taken. 

As shown by fellow striker Britt Assombalonga, it will then take Fryatt a considerable amount of time to regain his match sharpness after spending so long on the sidelines. Some Forest supporters would argue that Assombalonga is still a shadow of the player he once was. 

At 31 years of age, Fryatt holds a vast amount of experience and if he can return to the squad then he could have a positive impact off the pitch aswell as on it. He could pass on his knowledge to the likes of Ben Brereton, a 17-year-old striker who still has so much to learn but looks destined for the Premier League already. 

Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, Fryatt deserves a lot of credit for continuing to try and regain his fitness when many other players may have been tempted to hang up their boots.

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About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.