Nottingham Forest midfielder João Carvalho is still working on his match sharpness after returning from injury at the end of August.
The 22-year-old missed the first few games of the season after he picked up an injury against Alfreton Town in pre-season. His first appearance under the management of Sabri Lamouchi came in the Carabao Cup win against Derby County.
Having missed a chunk of pre-season, Lamouchi has gradually integrated Carvalho back into the side. He has started to regularly feature in the starting line-up over the last few weeks.
Having become the club’s record signing last summer when he arrived for £13.2 million from Benfica, Carvalho wasted no time in becoming a fan’s favourite.
Martin O’Neill was heavily criticised towards the end of last season when he opted to leave the midfielder out of the side. It’s already clear that Lamouchi rates him very highly, so that won’t be an issue this season.
It’s fair to say that Carvalho is yet to reach the heights of his performances from last season since returning from injury. It’s too early to judge his performances given that he is playing catch-up to the rest of the squad.
However, that hasn’t made him immune from some constructive criticism from supporters.
Some Forest fans have been left divided on social media about the standard of the midfielder’s recent performances. Some are satisfied with how Carvalho has been performing, whilst others think he should be doing more for the side.
Here is a look at what some of the club’s supporters are saying on social media…
Carvalho will be hoping he can prove his doubters wrong by producing a good performance when the Reds travel to the DW Stadium to face Wigan Athletic this Sunday.
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