Going from captain of the team to sitting in the stands isn’t something that typically happens but that was what faced Nottingham Forest star Nicolas Dominguez on Sunday.
When the team sheet was announced by Sean Dyche, there was a glaring omission from the squad, with Dominguez missing from the group that was about to take on Tottenham.
Up until Morgan Gibbs-White came on with around 15 minutes to play on Thursday night, Dominguez captained the Forest team for the first time, with Ryan Yates currently injured.
After Forest produced the best home performance of the season against a hapless Tottenham outfit, Dyche was quizzed on the Argentine’s availability for future matches.
Sean Dyche explains Nicolas Dominguez problem
It would appear as though Dominguez picked up an injury problem during the game against FC Utrecht, even if it wasn’t completely obvious at the time.
Dyche has now confirmed what the issue was, and it would appear that it might be a flare-up of the injury that kept him out of pre-season.
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He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Unfortunately, he’s got a knee issue. It’s nothing serious, we’ve had it scanned.
“His knee blew up with fluid in it. I think it was a cyst on his knee. Because we’ve got these eight days without a game, we didn’t risk it.
“It was the same with Matz – if it goes worse, then that’s a longer period out. Dom is the same. We looked at it and said: ‘What do we gain against what do we lose, if it flares up again?’
“We just had to be cautious, that’s a really big challenge for me as manager.”
Forest need Dominguez back quickly
Hopefully, the Argentine performer can be back in the squad when Forest go to Fulham next Monday, with a busy period of fixtures now on the horizon.
The midfielder is badly needed with Yates injured and Ibrahim Sangare now set to embark on an adventure at the African Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Using just ONE word, sum up Nicolas Dominguez’s time at Nottingham Forest
Let us have your one-word appraisals of the captain against FC Utrecht in the comments below…👇
That leaves the Reds depleted in central midfield, and it’s imperative that Dominguez can get himself fit and back on the pitch quickly.
It’s great that Dyche doesn’t think it’s anything too serious, and Dominguez has proved a very understated member of the squad over the last few years.
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