Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has confirmed that Super Eagles right-back Ola Aina will miss their final Premier League away fixture of the season against Manchester United, Footynaija.com reports.
Aina has been one of the more reliable performers in Forest’s backline across a memorable campaign that saw the club reach the Europa League semi-finals. His absence this weekend adds to a defensive headache Pereira has been managing for several weeks, with a number of first-team players sidelined at the same time.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Forest manager was straightforward about who is and who is not available.
“Murillo is out, Aina is out. At this moment, I think Dan Ndoye, Morgan and Sangaré will be training tomorrow. They are all improving but I think it’s not the time to take risks. We’ll see, it’s with the medical department now,” Pereira said.
The better news concerns three other absentees edging back. Gibbs-White, who picked up a facial injury in the defeat to Chelsea, returned to training wearing a protective mask.
Sangaré, who was substituted at half-time in the away match at Sunderland, was expected to train on Friday. Ndoye, absent since his spell on the bench at the Stadium of Light, has already resumed work with the group.
All three were named on the bench for the Europa League semi-final second leg, though Pereira later confirmed their inclusion was largely for morale rather than availability.
“He started today to work with the team with the mask. It’s strange when he uses it but I spoke with him and he said he’s OK with the mask, no problem. We’ll see if he’s in condition for the next match,” Pereira said of Gibbs-White.
No return date has been set for Aina. Forest travel to Old Trafford on Sunday knowing three points could still matter in the final shape of the Premier League table.
