On his right forearm, Nottingham Forest defender Morato bears a tattoo of great significance. Most of the centre-back’s inkings are simply ones he “feels like getting” at any given time. But one in particular means a great deal to him.

Little more than six years ago the Brazilian lost his sister, Rafaela, to cancer. The tattoo is of her. Morato carries her with him and plays for her.

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“I have a tattoo of my sister on my arm. The others don’t really have any meaning in particular, they are just what I feel like getting at the time.”

The loss of his sister resulted in Morato developing a connection with a young fan back in his homeland when he was coming up through the ranks at Sao Paulo. In 2019, when he won the Copinha – the most famous Under-20s tournament in the country – on penalties with the club, a young girl called Larissa became something of a lucky mascot for the team.

Larissa had brain cancer. Before the Copinha final, against Vasco, all the Sao Paulo players shaved their heads as a show of strength for the youngster and a way of thanking her for her support. Morato, however, asked the young girl to shave his head for him in the dressing room before the team went out on to the pitch.

“She was a girl who had cancer in Brazil and she had followed all the matches of the youth team I was playing in at the time,” Morato recalls via a translator. “That was in January 2019 and a year earlier, in August 2018, I had lost my sister to cancer so it was very special for me to see that and very emotional for me.

“At the end, as a team, we all came together and gave her a present. It is a present we as players will never forget and hope that she won’t either. I still keep in touch with her.”

Morato took a penalty and scored in the shootout as Sao Paulo clinched victory. But it is at the other end of the pitch where he has been making an impact for Forest.

A summer signing from Benfica, he has mostly been restricted to a substitutes’ role so far – but he has certainly made the most of those opportunities. Defensive solidity has been a big feature of the first half of the season for the Reds and Morato has definitely played his part.

He has made 13 appearances in the Garibaldi, 11 of those from off the bench as head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has trusted him to help see out some big games. The Reds have conceded just one goal while he has been on the pitch. It is a stat he takes pride in.

“Absolutely. That’s my job,” Morato says as he reflects on his time at the City Ground when speaking at the Nigel Doughty Academy on a freezing-cold day. “In the moment I have to go out there, help to shut out goals and shore up the defence so that’s what I’m proud to do.

“I think it does show he’s got faith in me. He has put me in there for some big games and I think he is going to carry on doing that.”

Morato might well be in line for a start against Luton Town in the third round of the FA Cup this afternoon (3pm kick-off). Forest would love to go far in the competition.

Victory today would extend the Reds’ winning streak to seven games in all competitions. They are flying in the Premier League and securing European football is a realistic ambition. Morato knows all about the club’s history on the continent, being well versed in Brian Clough’s European Cup success.