AN emotional Morgan Gibbs-White was left fighting back tears in a live TV interview over team-mate Elliot Anderson.
The Nottingham Forest star missed the Europa League win over Porto after the tragic death of his mum.
The England international was set for a midfield role in Thursday’s quarter-final second leg showdown with the Portuguese giants – but it was announced pre-match he would not be available due to the bereavement.
A statement read: “Elliot Anderson is unavailable for tonight’s fixture following the passing of his beloved mother, Helen.
“Everyone at Nottingham Forest Football Club extends its deepest condolences to Elliot and his family following this extremely sad news.
“Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with the Anderson family at this difficult time.”
After hitting what proved to be the deciding goal early on at the City Ground, Gibbs-White and his team-mates held up a shirt that displayed his name and squad number with the message “Family first. We are all with you.”
Towards the end of his post-match media duties, the match-winner opened up on the tribute to club and England colleague Anderson and his family, with the midfielder left visibly emotional and his voice cracking.
He told TNT Sports: “A really emotional night. It’s a shame, a big shame.
“He’s an incredible kid. No one deserves this, no one. But we are all with him.”
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Forest now face an all Premier League showdown with Aston Villa in the semi-finals of the Europa League.
It means an English team is guaranteed to be in the final of Europe’s second tier competition against one of Freiburg or Braga.
The winner of the competition not only gets their hands on the famous trophy, but also books Champions League football next term, a luxury enjoyed this campaign by Tottenham after their tournament success.
Vitor Pereira and his troops are also battling to retain their Premier League status with six games of the season remaining.
They are currently three points above Spurs in the final relegation place and face Burnley at home this coming Sunday in another huge occasion.
