Ola Aina could make his long-awaited return from injury for Nottingham Forest in this weekend’s clash against Aston Villa according to manager Sean Dyche, SportPremi reports.
The Nigerian defender has been out of action since injuring his hamstring in September, missing several matches in the English Premier League and in the UEFA Europa League.
The 29-year-old was a very important part of the Tricky Trees side that finished seventh in the EPL last season under former manager Nuno Espirito Santo and qualified for European football.
He returned to training last month and has featured for the club’s B-team in an attempt to bring him up to speed and was subsequently left out of Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 African Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The right-back who extended his contract at the club in the summer can now be registered for the Europa League, following his exclusion from the squad earlier in the season due to injury.
Nottingham Forest will hope to end their three-match losing streak when they visit the Villa Park tomorrow to face Aston Villa.
Sean Dyche confirms Aina’s return for Aston Villa trip
Sean Dyche took over as manager of Nottingham Forest in October, but has been unable to call upon the club’s first-choice right-back Ola Aina due to injury.
However, the Nigerian defender’s return comes as a timely boost as the Tricky Trees continue their fight against relegation.
“Obviously Ola (Aina) comes back into the group, which is good. I am learning about him, I know he is a good character. I managed teams that have played against him so I know about the pace and power he has got”, Sean Dyche revealed in his prematch press conference.
“We are looking forward to getting him back involved. He is in contention to come back into the group.
“He has put a lot of miles on the clock (on the training ground), not so many game hours, because of the situation. But his injury is fine, he feels fine, he is back into the group.”
The manager also acknowledged the threat posed by Aston Villa, who were on an eleven-game winning run before losing to Arsenal in their last outing.
“Villa are certainly a good side, we know that. It will be another tough game, but they all are”, he continued.
“We played very well recently against some top sides and have got some good results. Other sides around us, we haven’t played as well against. The challenge of the Premier League is you have got to be on it all the time.
“Factually, we are in a better position than when I got here. With regards to the Premier League, it’s a building process”, Dyche concluded.
