Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has revealed the fitness status of Super Eagles full-back Ola Aina ahead of their final league game against Bournemouth, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 29-year-old has been out of action since April 30, when The Reds secured a narrow 1-0 win against Aston Villa in the Europa League semi-final.
Aina played just 75 minutes in that fixture before hobbling off with a knock. He’s yet to play a game since then.
Without the former Chelsea star at the back, Forest were crippled at Villa Park, falling to a humiliating 0-4 defeat to the eventual winners of the competition.
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Ola Aina back in Nottingham Forest training
Under Vitor Pereira, Forest have dragged themselves through a keenly contested relegation battle that involved them parting ways with three other managers.
Now home and sundry, the clash against Bournemouth holds little to no value for the home side at City Ground. The Cherries, meanwhile, will be looking to gift Andoni Iraola a perfect send-off, while holding the slim possibility of sealing a UEFA Champions League spot.
Ahead of the clash, Vitor Pereira confirmed Ola Aina was back in training, but is unsure if the Super Eagles star will feature in the final league game on Sunday.
“Murillo stays without training with the team. Ola (Aina) started today on the pitch,” Vitor Pereira said in quotes revealed by Nottingham Forest’s official website.
“I think Dan (Ndoye) has worked two times with the team, but we will see. I think that is all.
“We are in a moment of the season where we can’t take risks because this is a game we want to win.
“It’s not a final or a game to decide big things. Of course we want to win the game, we want three points and finish in the positions in the table.
“We will do everything to get a good result, but it is not possible to take risks at this moment,” the former Wolverhampton Wanderers coach concluded.
The previous meeting between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth this season ended with a 2-0 victory in favour of Iraola’s side.