Forest head to the Stadium of Light on Friday night knowing that a win would take them to within touching distance of securing their Premier League status, and Pereira has been handed a timely boost ahead of arguably their most important game of the run-in.
The backdrop is one of genuine momentum.
Before a run that began in mid-March, Forest were sitting 17th and above the drop only on goal difference. Mere weeks later, they have climbed to 16th with 36 points — five clear of Tottenham in 18th — and are unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions.
That run includes a 3-0 dismantling of Spurs and last weekend’s emphatic 4-1 victory over Burnley, in which Morgan Gibbs-White helped himself to a hat-trick.
The England man is now in the form of his life and making a compelling case for a spot in the World Cup squad.
A Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa also awaits next week — a remarkable backdrop for a club that spent much of the season staring down the barrel of relegation.
Pereira has transformed the atmosphere at the City Ground, and his record in the spring months makes for impressive reading. Across his spells at Wolves and now Forest, he has won eight of 13 Premier League games in March and April.
Regis Le Bris’s side have built a formidable record at the Stadium of Light this season, losing only three home games all campaign and conceding just 14 goals on home soil — the third-best defensive record in the division on their own patch.
Their promotion story continues to capture the imagination, and despite last Sunday’s deflating 4-3 defeat at Aston Villa — where a 93rd-minute Tammy Abraham goal denied them a point they briefly looked like earning — they remain four points off sixth place with a game in hand.
European football is an outside but genuine prospect.
Vitor Pereira shares ‘good news’ for Nottingham Forest ahead of Sunderland
Against that context, Pereira’s injury update ahead of the game is a mixed bag, but there is a welcome update.
The headline bad news is the confirmed absence of Murillo.
The Brazilian centre-back was forced off before half-time at Burnley and the Forest boss was blunt about his prognosis in his press conference.
“He is out,” Pereira said.
“It is a muscle injury. I’m not a doctor, I cannot predict, but he will be out tomorrow. I think it will be more than one game.”
With Willy Boly, Nicolo Savona and John Victor also unavailable, Forest’s defensive resources are being stretched.
