Nottingham Forest have 14 players on international duty before the return to domestic action next weekend.
Chris Wood has picked up an injury with New Zealand and the hope will be that it will prove to be a minor niggle rather than anything more sinister.
Elsewhere, Morgan Gibbs-White is pushing for England minutes tonight as he aims to get his first outing under Thomas Tuchel.
Elliot Anderson, Zach Abbott, Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga are other players currently away with their respective countries and Forest have plenty of international stars.
Nikola Milenkovic was back in action for Serbia last night against Austria and he’s another player that Forest will be keen to ensure returns to the club fit.
Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images
Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images
The 27-year-old has been inspired since signing for Forest for just £12 million from Fiorentina during the summer.
Milenkovic missed the trip to Austria last week as he was serving a one-match suspension but he returned to the fold to captain his country last night.
Serbia ran out 2-0 victors on home soil with the goals coming from Nemanja Maksimovic and Dusan Vlahovic.
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After the game, Mondo scored Milenkovic a 6.5/10 for his efforts.
They said: “He had his moments of hesitation, especially at the start of the game in the 9th minute when he came forward and left a gap for Strahinja Pavlović, but he did his job very well until the end, showing that he is one of the best stoppers in the Premier League this season for a reason.
“He also tried his head, and it seems that he was very happy when he saw Arnautović as a new task. He successfully stopped him as well as Grilič.”
Nikola Milenkovic stats vs Austria
The giant of a defender was once again in fine form and he’s so important for both club and country.
Milenkovic has been arguably the club’s best signing since promotion back to the Premier League in 2022 such has been his impact on things.
Nikola Milenkovic stats vs Austria Total
Minutes 90
Aerial Won 1
Pass Accuracy 76%
Clearances 9
Who Scored Rating 7.11
The player is going to be instrumental not only in the last nine games of this season but also in next season’s Champions League if Forest can make it.
Milenkovic is a nod towards the current recruitment structure in place at the City Ground and hopefully more bargains can be sought in the summer.