Nottingham Forest were forced into defensive changes for their Premier League trip to Aston Villa after Nikola Milenkovic and Jair Cunha suffered hamstring injuries in training. The pair were late withdrawals from the squad for the game at Villa Park on Saturday.
Manager Oliver Glasner explained the situation before kick-off. "After lunch, the doctor came to me and said they don’t feel comfortable, there’s some tightness in the hamstrings, so unfortunately they don’t make it today," Glasner said. The issues arose following a session on Friday.
Glasner reshuffles
With the two defenders unavailable, Glasner handed a first Premier League start to Ousmane Diomande. Daniel Munoz, the £22 million signing from Crystal Palace last month, also made his full debut for the club. Glasner expressed confidence in his squad depth. "We trained yesterday, but it is how it is. We can’t change it anymore and we trust in the other players," he added.
The absences come as Forest look to build momentum after a slow start to the season. They sit 16th in the Premier League with two points from their opening three games, having drawn their last two matches. Their next challenge is a home fixture against bottom-placed Coventry City on Saturday, 19 September.
In addition to Milenkovic and Cunha, the club's injury list also includes Nicolò Savona. The team will hope for positive news on the defenders' fitness ahead of the Coventry match at the City Ground.
