Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth: Antoine Semenyo scores late equaliser for Cherries after Chris Wood opener as contest soured by horror injury to Danilo

Nottingham Forest were held to a frustrating draw by Bournemouth during a match which saw Forest midfielder Danilo suffer a horrific injury.

Danilo jumped for a routine header in the seventh minute of the game and came down on his ankle, which buckled beneath him. 

The game was paused for ten minutes as the medical team rushed to his aid and put up privacy barriers, all signs indicating to the hushed crowd that it was a sickening and deeply unfortunate injury for the 23-year-old.

Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who confirmed after the match that Danilo had suffered an ankle break, said: ‘It was a horrible moment for everybody. It’s serious. We’re going to miss him – not only on the pitch but [he’s a] wonderful boy, always smiling.

‘The good news is that he’s stable. I have no idea [how long he will be out] but I just wish it will be short because he is a very important player for us.’

The Brazilian midfielder was stretchered off the field at the City Ground by on-site paramedics 

Chris Wood scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest with a real poacher’s effort

Semenyo salvaged a point for the Cherries when he scored the equaliser in the 86th minute

There was a quiet sense of optimism around the City Ground before kick-off. Forest were entering their third consecutive season in the top flight, and were looking to put all their PSR troubles and refereeing squabbles from last season behind them.

And while Danilo’s early injury looked set to sour the mood, his replacement Ryan Yates was outstanding.

After the lengthy stop in play, Yates came on and found himself through on goal almost immediately, taking aim at Neto who parried the ball into the path of Chris Wood. And with a classic striker’s finish, Wood smashed the ball into the bottom corner.

The intensity of the game increased as Bournemouth were denied an equaliser almost immediately after.

A short corner was taken quickly and Forest were taken by surprise as Dango Ouattara bundled it over the line. But VAR chalked it off for a marginal offside by Lewis Cook in the build up, and the celebrations rung out. A warning sign for the home side, who ranked the league’s worst for goals conceded from set pieces last season.

The start of the second half saw further dominance from Nuno’s side as Morgan Gibbs-White carried his usual attacking threat and there was optimism around marquee signing Elliot Anderson’s debut, too.

But as the minutes stretched on and Forest found themselves unable to extend their lead, the game grew progressively more cagey. Andoni Iraola cut a frustrated figure on the sideline, gesticulating to the referee for time wasting when Matz Sels was seen looking after the ball for periods at a time.

The concern for the Cherries’ following the departure of Solanke was a lack of attacking intent, with the onus landing on Antoine Semenyo to do the heavy lifting. They had been hoping to get their new club record £40m signing, Brazilian Evanilson, finalised in time for the match, but were without such luck and looked like they were about to feel the ramifications of fielding a starting line-up without an out-and-out striker.

Semenyo slotted home from close range to secure a valuable point for Bournemouth

The goal was Semenyo’s tenth Premier League goal for the Cherries since his arrival in 2023

Bournemouth had a goal ruled out by VAR in the first half as Lewis Cook was offside

The Nottingham Forest faithful created a tremendous atmosphere for the season opener

But it was Semenyo who stepped up to the mark with four minutes of normal time to go. Ryan Christie’s cut back into the penalty area pinged around before landing at the 24-year-old’s feet, who gratefully smashed it past Sels.

Iraola said: ‘We came here, we played well. We tried to win the game but we also didn’t want to start losing. They are a difficult team to play against when you are behind but we kept pushing and I think it’s fair that we had one point and I think at the end of the game we finished closer to winning.’

On Danilo’s injury, Iraola added: ‘I hope it’s not as bad as it looks’.