Nottingham Forest had another reshuffle of their squad during the summer transfer window, with European football attracting a host of big-name signings.
The Reds added to the squad and also allowed a host of other players to depart the club to make room for the new additions.
This season so far hasn’t been helped by the fact that Forest have already had three managers this season, and that has made things a little bit tricky for some players.
There have been varying levels of success for the players who departed Forest in the summer, and now, for one, he will be left gutted by what happened in this weekend’s match.
Lewis O’Brien set to miss Nottingham Forest clash
Forest signed O’Brien for £10 million from Huddersfield in the summer of 2022 was allowed to leave Forest permanently in 2025 after just 14 Premier League outings for the Reds.
Loan spells in America and with Middlesbrough and Swansea led to Wrexham landing him permanently in the summer, and he’d have been looking ahead to the FA Cup clash with Forest.
However, a 2-1 defeat to Swansea on Friday night proved extremely drab for O’Brien, with the player lasting a matter of minutes before dislocating his shoulder and injuring his knee after a robust challenge from Ethan Galbraith.
Phil Parkinson confirmed after the game that O’Brien would now be out of action for a while and it feels almost certain that he will now miss the FA Cup match with his former club.
O’Brien was desperately unlucky at Forest, with most supporters having high hopes for the player when he originally signed from beaten play-off finalists Huddersfield.
Forest can’t prioritise FA Cup run this season
Last season, Forest were flying high in the Premier League by the time the FA Cup came around and focus a little bit more on making a fist of the world’s oldest cup competition.
The Reds managed to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament, losing a close game to Manchester City, with Crystal Palace winning the competition.
This season, Forest are in a sticky situation in the Premier League, however, and as a result, it could be a very weakened team that goes to Wrexham for the third round clash.
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With Europe to focus on as well this season, Dyche will likely have to juggle things accordingly and that could see Wrexham head into the game as favourites on home soil.
O’Brien will watch the game from the stands and he will hope he’s fit for future rounds should the Red Dragons prevail and cause a shock against Forest.
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