Joe Worrall picked up his boots for Nottingham Forest against Chelsea, despite losing his Uncle to a train accident recently.
Worrall’s uncle was the police sergeant, Graham Saville, who lost his fight for life last week after being hit by a train while trying to save a man in distress.
Paying tribute to his player, Forest manager Cooper said: ‘He has been incredible. I knew what was going on before it became public and he has put himself second for the football club. It has given him a release.
‘The guys showed him a huge amount of respect for what he has been through and I cannot speak highly enough of the man he has been this week or so.
‘I know how important this will be today. It will give him and his family some respite. Nothing can make what happened any better but at least it gives him some nice feelings for a while. A lot of that result today was for them.’
Forest produced a near-perfect away performance to claim their first win at Chelsea in 28 years though Cooper admitted he made a major mistake by wearing a jumper in the searing September heat at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were booed off after suffering their second league defeat of the season in their opening four games.
