Nottingham Forest share exactly why they couldn’t select Nikola Milenkovic vs Bournemouth

Add as preferred source on Google

Nottingham Forest have got their 2024/25 campaign up and running on Saturday afternoon with Bournemouth making the trip to north.

Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side could not have gotten off to much of a worse start at the City Ground with Danilo suffering an injury which will have fans crossing everything for a speedy recovery.

Forest‘s season opener did not see any of their summer signings start from the off against the Cherries.

Ramon Sosa was unveiled to the crowd before kick off following his signing on Friday evening.

There was four new signings on the bench with Sosa watching on from the stands, however, there was one noteworthy omission from the squad altogether.

But the club have now shared the reasoning behind Nikola Milenkovic not being a part of the Forest squad to face Bournemouth.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest eyeing ‘fantastic’ defender who Manchester United and Liverpool also want to sign

Why Nottingham Forest could not play Nikola Milenkovic vs Bournemouth

The Reds are still looking to make more signings this summer with a couple of positions still needing to be bolstered.

Forest are now believed to be eyeing a move for Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno on a season-long loan deal before the end of the month.

But there was one big absence from the game on Saturday with summer singing Milenkovic not even making the squad.

• READ MORE: Ross Wilson left absolutely ‘delighted’ as big news emerges out of Nottingham Forest

Ahead of the game, Forest shared the reasoning behind the Serbian’s omission from the squad as the player will have been eyeing his debut in front of the City Ground faithful.

‘Nikola Milenković is ineligible for today’s game through suspension which carries over from the 2023/24 season,’ the club said over X.

This comes after Milenkovic picked up a red card in April for Fiorentina when playing in the Italian Cup against Atalanta.

Frustratingly for the Reds, it has carried over into the Premier League campaign rather than one of Forest’s cup competitions.

Willy Boly steps up showing Nottingham Forest’s squad depth

There will have been a lot of fans who would have been looking forward to seeing a Milenkovic and Murillo partnership at the back.

However, this is a positive sign that Forest can go into the game without one of their big summer signings and not have to worry too much about his replacement.

Even Matz Sels has shared how impressed he has been with Milenkovic since he joined earlier in the summer.

“Yeah, I have played now 45 minutes together with him. So he’s somebody new also, but he has a lot of experience also in Europe and with national team; I think he was captain,” Sels said.

“So no, it’s good to have somebody like him with us. He’s going to create also a good concurrence between the players.”

Forest fans know exactly what they are going to get out of Boly who played 20 times in the Premier League last season for the Reds.

The wait may go on to see Milenkovic make his competitive debut in a Forest shirt but Evangelos Marinakis will be delighted with the squad depth he has built over the summer at the City Ground.