Ola Aina is proving to be the forgotten man at Nottingham Forest, with the defender recovering from a hamstring injury.
Sean Dyche will be keen to get the full-back returning to action sooner rather than later, with options looking pretty sparse in that area of the pitch.
Neco Williams and Nicolo Savona have been the first-choice full-back options, with Oleksandr Zinchenko recently returning to full fitness.
Aina played for the B-Team last week, and it had seemed as though his return to action might be ramping up, however, Dyche’s comments don’t seem to suggest he’s that close at all.
Sean Dyche delivers update on Ola Aina
Aina is a key player in the Forest dressing room, and the vibes he brings to the dressing room make him a key player on and off the pitch.
Ahead of Monday’s game against Fulham, Dyche has been quizzed on the fitness of Aina and delivered an intriguing response when asked if he was edging closer to a return.
He told BBC Sport: “He’s halfway through his recovery. He’s training more regularly with the team, but we’re being careful with him because of the nature of his injury.”
Aina was integral to the Forest ranks last season and it’s fair to say that having more options at full-back would definitely be ideal from Dyche’s perspective.
Aina will have to fight for his place when he returns
Although Aina was desperately important for Forest last season, Nicolo Savona has been fantastic and done very little wrong since he came in to replace the Nigerian performer.
Thankfully, Aina won’t be going to the African Cup of Nations, and that should allow him to recover properly and make an impact for Forest, hopefully in the New Year.
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Having him back is important, but given that his injury has required surgery, it’s vital that the club look after him accordingly and don’t rush him back to first-team action.
It’s very cliched, but having Aina back will be like a new signing for Forest and it’s very exciting to see several members of their squad start to regain full fitness.
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