Nottingham Forest right-back Tendayi Darikwa set to miss chunk of pre-season

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Nottingham Forest right-back Tendayi Darikwa is set to miss a chunk of pre-season ahead of the 2019/20 campaign. 

The 27-year-old defender has helped Zimbabwe qualify for the African Cup of Nations. But with the tournament scheduled to take place late in the summer, it isn’t good news for the Reds.

The tournament gets underway with the group stage on June 21. If Zimbabwe are able to get all the way through to the final, the full-back won’t return until late July.

The final is held at the Cairo International Stadium on 19 July. Aitor Karanka had already taken the Reds on a six-day training camp in Marbella by that date last year.

It certainly isn’t the ideal preparation for the 2019/20 campaign.

Having said that, if Darikwa can help his country be successful, then it can only have a positive impact on his confidence. The main issue will be fatigue heading into what will be another demanding season.

Tough

Of course, it isn’t yet confirmed what division the Reds will be competing in next season. The full-back may return to Premier League football, in which case he’d have an extra week to recover and get himself ready for a return to action.

With the African Cup of Nations still a while off yet, Darikwa remains fully focussed on helping the Reds gatecrash the play-offs.

Speaking on the competitiveness of the Championship, Darikwa told the Nottingham Post: “It is one of the few leagues where the majority of teams will feel like they have a chance of promotion or even of winning the league.

“It is a competitive league and I wish we were higher in the table – but we still have a chance and we have to take that belief into these games.

“It is on the road where we have been dropping points and hopefully we can get back-to-back wins when we go to Rotherham.”

There’s no doubt that the rampaging full-back has been a key player for the Reds this season. His improvement over the course of the campaign has been remarkable.

Martin O’Neill will be hoping that he can continue to make such an impact for his side in the remainder of the campaign. But he’ll also be hoping he returns to pre-season as soon as possible, without any injuries to show for his international exploits.