Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has confirmed that right-back Ola Aina will be sidelined for the rest of the year as he continues his recovery from injury, SportPremi reports.
The defender has been ruled out of action since suffering a hamstring injury in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against South Africa in September.
The 29-year-old has been limited to only three appearances in all competitions this season, playing every minute of the Tricky Trees first three league games of the season.
He underwent surgery and, although he has returned to team training, his full comeback is now projected for 2026.
Aina made 37 appearances in all competitions last season, including 35 in the English Premier League as Nottingham Forest achieved European qualification with a seventh-placed finish.
The Super Eagles star will now miss the African Cup of Nations tournament later this month, with his recovery time extended till next year.
Dyche confirms Aina’s return date
Nottingham Forest face bottom-placed Wolves in the English Premier League on Wednesday, hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.
While in his media duties ahead of the clash, manager Sean Dyche provided the latest updates about the players’ availability.
“It’s better news. Not everyone is quite fit yet but a few are back on the grass training, which is a good start”, the former Burnley manager said.
“The ones left not with us yet are Taiwo, Woody and Douglas – although they are getting closer. Ola is getting closer to fitness but obviously can’t be with us until January.”
On the clash against Wolves
“They are all important games. I’m long in the tooth with all the talk about six-pointers and big games. Every game should be a big game”, Dyche added.
“I’m not just saying that. My mentality as a player was like that – I wasn’t a brilliant player but I had a good mentality for playing.
Every game should be a big game for players, no matter what competition it is in. If you play right all of the time, you find a consistently high level of performance.
That is what we are looking for these players to do. So far, I have been really pleased with it.”
Nottingham Forest visit the Molineux on Wednesday night hoping to record a second successive away win in the league.
The Tricky Trees are currently 16th on the standings with 12 points, while Wolves have only two points from their first 13 matches.
