Nottingham Forest’s new era under Ange Postecoglou has been hit with a significant injury blow. Defender Ola Aina is expected to be sidelined for three months due to a hamstring injury sustained during Nigeria’s 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with South Africa. This rules him out until the new year, dealing a major setback to Postecoglou’s plans.
Injury Details
- Aina suffered the injury in the 10th minute of Nigeria’s match against South Africa and was replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel.
- Scans confirmed the extent of the damage, and Aina will likely miss the remainder of 2025.
- The injury has prompted Nottingham Forest to remove Aina from their Premier League squad, with striker Taiwo Awoniyi set to take his place ¹ ² ³.
Impact on Nottingham Forest
- Aina’s absence will be felt, as he has been a reliable option on the right side of defense since joining Forest in 2023.
- Postecoglou will need to find alternative options to fill the gap left by Aina, with Nicolo Savona potentially taking over.
- Forest faces a challenging fixture list without Aina, starting with their upcoming match against Arsenal ¹ ⁴.
Postecoglou’s Response
- “We’ve sent him for some scans and we should get the results this afternoon. The rest of the boys, today is the first day I’ve had my eyes on them, and they’re all fine. We have a clean bill of health apart from Aina.”
- Despite the setback, Postecoglou remains optimistic about the squad’s ability to compete on all fronts ⁵.
