Nottingham Forest have been dealt an injury blow as defender Ola Aina is to be sidelined “for a while” with a calf issue.
The full-back was forced off in the 40th minute of Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at the City Ground. He underwent a scan and is now set for a period out of action.
It leaves Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo with a problem to solve at the back ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Aston Villa (5.30pm kick-off). Alex Moreno would be the obvious choice to step in for Aina but the Villa loanee is ineligible to face his parent club.
“He has had the scan and he is going to be out for a while. It is a calf problem. He is not going to be available,” Nuno said of Aina.
“It is a big blow. We will miss his quality, his talent and the routines we already have with his teammates. We are going to miss him.
“Some players take more time, others less. We will assess him. He will definitely be out for Villa and for Everton he will be a doubt. Beyond that we will assess him. I am positive that we will see him again (before the end of the season)."
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Youngster Eric da Silva Moreira is also injured, further limiting Nuno’s full-back choices. Harry Toffolo could step in at left-back, with Neco Williams switching to the right, but the former Huddersfield Town man has not seen much game time this season.
“He got injured with the Germany Under-19 national team, in their second game. He has been out for two or three weeks now,” Nuno said of Moreira.
“He is getting back in the group now with individual sessions. For this game, it is also going to be very tight for him maybe.
“With Ola out, we are going to try to find solutions to the problems we have. The absence of Ola is a big one and we are going to miss him but we have to find solutions.”
There is still a question mark over whether striker Chris Wood will be fit for Saturday. The 33-year-old sustained a hip injury while on international duty for New Zealand and has missed the last two games.
However, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi will be available for the trip to the West Midlands. He missed the United clash for personal reasons.
On Wood, Nuno said: “We are assessing. It is going to be day by day. Hopefully tomorrow better and he continues to improve.”
He added on Hudson-Odoi: “He is going to be available for this game. It is a big boost. We missed him in the previous game. He has been huge for us.”
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