Forest's Awoniyi in Induced Coma after Surgery

Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Leicester City - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - May 11, 2025 Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi reacts after sustaining an injury. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Leicester City - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - May 11, 2025 Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi reacts after sustaining an injury. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
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Forest's Awoniyi in Induced Coma after Surgery

Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Leicester City - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - May 11, 2025 Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi reacts after sustaining an injury. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Leicester City - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - May 11, 2025 Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi reacts after sustaining an injury. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi is in an induced coma after undergoing surgery on a serious abdominal injury, according to British media reports.

The Nigeria international, 27, collided with the goalpost in the 88th minute of Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City at the City Ground, attempting to connect with a cross from Anthony Elanga.

Awoniyi, who joined Forest from Union Berlin in June 2022, came on as a late substitute for Ibrahim Sangare and spent only five minutes on the pitch before the incident.

He received immediate treatment on the field and then rejoined the game but was limping for the last 10 minutes of the match.

The BBC was among British media outlets that reported late on Tuesday that Awoniyi had been placed in an induced coma after having the first phase of surgery.

In a statement earlier on Tuesday, Forest said Awoniyi had undergone surgery and was "recovering well".

"Nottingham Forest can confirm that Taiwo Awoniyi is recovering well so far following urgent surgery on a serious abdominal injury sustained during Sunday’s match against Leicester City," the club said.

Reuters has contacted Forest for comment.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis came onto the pitch after the Leicester game and appeared to remonstrate with manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

Espirito Santo said that the incident was due to Marinakis's frustration over Awoniyi not being substituted. The Forest manager added that the Nigeria international was left on due to a misunderstanding between the coaching and medical departments.

Forest on Tuesday dismissed reports as "fake news" that Marinakis was involved in a confrontation with the manager.



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
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'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."