Fans stunned after cameras show Morgan Gibbs-White's 'brutal' injury three days after Chelsea clash

Football fans have been left stunned after cameras panned to Morgan Gibbs-White on the bench during the second leg of Nottingham Forest's Europa League clash against Aston Villa.

Gibbs-White was substituted in the 66th minute of Forest's 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday following a horrific collision with Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

The England midfielder sustained a cut on his forehead which required stitches, with the deep cut positioned above his right eye.

Gibbs-White would share photos of the injury to Instagram on Monday night, which also showed damage to his nose.

Sanchez was also substituted but his injuries appear to have been less severe, with the Spaniard sending a message to Gibbs-White on Instagram: "Seen that you came out worst than me, hope you are ok big man."

Read more: Morgan Gibbs-White shares gruesome image of horror injury after collision in Chelsea win

The Forest midfielder was fit enough to be named on the bench by manager Vitor Pereira at Villa Park.

Forest will hope that they will not need their star playmaker in the second leg, having gone 1-0 up in the first leg via Chris Wood's penalty.

But Gibbs-White is seemingly available should they need to call on him, albeit while wearing a protective mask over the affected part of his face.

The midfielder only has to wear the mask when he's on the pitch, with TNT Sports cameras panning to him sat on Nottingham Forest's bench during the first half at Villa Park.

The after-effects of his injury can still be clearly seen, with a significant cut still present between his forehead and the upper part of his nose. He also has two black eyes.

Fans have found it remarkable that Gibbs-White has been able to return to the bench, given the state of the injuries and the fact that the collision only happened three days ago.

"They showed Gibbs-White, there's no way he could come on, surely not?" one fan wrote.

"No way he makes it onto the pitch surely?" another agreed.

While a third added: "That is a nasty gash, fair play on putting yourself on the bench."

And a fourth said: "Gibbs-White oh my word."

Speaking pre-match, Forest boss Pereira said Gibbs-White was 'here to help us', but only replied 'we will see' when asked if there was any realistic possibility of Gibbs-White playing any part.