Sean Dyche hopes Chris Wood will be back in action within weeks for Nottingham Forest, after the striker underwent surgery to address a long-standing knee problem.

The 34-year-old striker has been sidelined since mid-October with the issue, which the club had hoped would be cured by rest. But Wood will now face a further period of recovery, following what Dyche described as a cartilage operation to address bone swelling in his knee.

Wood scored 20 Premier League goals last season as Forest secured a seventh-placed finish and a return to European football, in the Europa League. He scored three goals this campaign before succumbing to the problem following the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, which proved to be Ange Postecoglou’s final game in charge.

Wood is yet to feature under Dyche, who he previously played for at Burnley between the summer of 2017 and January 2022.

“He has had surgery, at the end of a period of trying to settle it down. We had a lot of specialist opinion on trying to get through things naturally,” said Dyche.

“But they have decided it was time to go and do it. It was a version of a cartilage op(eration). It will not be days, we are hoping it will be weeks. We will have to see how it settles. The signs were good, from the surgical point of view.”

Dyche was frustrated that his side did not secure a point against Manchester City, as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the City Ground on Saturday.

But the head coach felt key decisions from referee Rob Jones and his officiating team did not aid Forest’s cause, thinking Ruben Dias fortunate not to collect a second yellow card for a foul on Igor Jesus early in the second half.

Dyche also believed Morgan Gibbs-White had been fouled by Nico O’Reilly in the build-up to City’s 83rd-minute winning goal, from Rayan Cherki.

“We have all seen it back,” said Dyche. “Such an easy decision for VAR. Such an easy decision for the officials. I am a big fan of VAR. But I cannot work out how you cannot get that right. Gibbs-White is quite clearly pushed to the floor. Whichever way you look at it, it was a foul.

“Then they score from it, which was a double whammy.”

The Forest head coach felt Dias could have received a second yellow card on more than one occasion.

“When I was a player, if you kicked the ball away you got booked. He does it, then falls on the floor injured, apparently. Nothing happens. The same player then brings down Igor in the second half,” he said.

“If he was through on goal, what would have happened? We all know it would have been a red card. So how can it be called an accident and not be given a yellow card?

“I just find it bizarre. These are easy things to referee. It is a yellow card. Off you go. I am absolutely stunned. I am a big fan of referees. They have a hard job and they mostly do it well. You get in trouble (for saying these things). But why am I getting in trouble? I can’t fathom it.”