By admin 
Ola Aina will miss Nottingham Forest’s trip to Aston Villa on Saturday – providing a headache for boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who is short of options in full-back positions.
Aina sustained a calf injury during Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at the City Ground and has been ruled out of the clash at Villa Park.
It is not thought to be a serious setback, however, and Nuno suggested the hitherto ever-present defender could return for the game against Everton on April 12.
The Portuguese said: “It is always difficult when it is a calf injury, we have to give him time. We do not have an exact time schedule, it is all about his ability to recover.
“Some players take more time, others less. We will assess him. He will definitely be out for Villa and for Everton he will be a doubt. Beyond that we will assess him. I am positive that we will see him again [before the end of the season].
“He has had the scan and he is going to be out for a while. It is a big blow. We will miss his quality, his talent and the routines we already have with his teammates. We are going to miss him.”
🗣️ “He’s going to be out, we’re going to miss him”
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo says Ola Aina will be out for a “while” with a calf injury.
Chris Wood will be assessed and Callum Hudson-Odoi is fit to return for Saturday’s game against Aston Villa 🌳 pic.twitter.com/4JadHP8Tpu
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 3, 2025
Forest short of full-backs
Forest now have an issue at full-back with Alex Moreno ineligible to face Villa, his parent club, and Eric Moreira not fully fit.
“[Moreno] is not available to play against Villa,” added Nuno. “We will have to find other solutions. He did well when he came on [against United]. But he cannot play against Villa.
“Moreira got injured with the Germany Under-19 national team. He has been out for two or three weeks now. He is getting back in the group now with individual sessions. For this game, it is also going to be very tight for him.
“With Ola out, we are going to try to find solutions to the problems we have. The absence of Ola is a big one and we are going to miss him but we have to find solutions.
“Our training sessions are very light, in terms of load. We will look tomorrow and try to find a solution.”
Crossing the Midlands on Saturday. 👊 pic.twitter.com/QJ8VkIoY8X
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 3, 2025
Nuno to wait on Wood
Aina has been one of Forest’s stand-out players in a remarkable season that could end with qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Another has been striker Chris Wood, who could return at the weekend after injuring a hip on international duty with New Zealand.
Nuno said of the former Leeds and Newcastle man: “We are assessing him. It is going to be day by day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and he continues to improve.”
The win over United, which came courtesy of Anthony Elanga’s wonderful solo goal, saw Forest strengthen their grip on third place in the Premier League.