New Nottingham Forest head coach Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Super Eagles fullback Ola Aina has undergone scans to assess the injury he picked up while on international duty with Nigeria, Bold Sports.
Aina was forced off and replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel after just 10 minutes in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Speaking in his first press conference since taking charge of Forest, Postecoglou provided an update on the fullback’s condition ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Arsenal.
“Basically, we’ve got a clean bill of health except for Aina who has just come back and obviously had an issue with the national team. We’ve sent him for some scans and we’ll get some information this afternoon,” Postecoglou said.
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“The rest of the boys are all fine and should be available for the weekend. Zinchenko is the other one, obviously because he’s on loan from Arsenal so he’s unavailable.”
Forest have endured a mixed start to the campaign, registering one win, one draw and one defeat. Postecoglou, however, faces a daunting opening fixture as manager against an Arsenal side that have won two of their first three league matches.
Forest’s record against the Gunners is also bleak, with just two wins in 16 Premier League meetings (D4 L10), both victories coming at the City Ground in 1996-97 and 2022-23.
For Postecoglou, too, Arsenal have been a difficult opponent. In four Premier League encounters with Mikel Arteta’s side during his spell at Tottenham Hotspur, he failed to secure a win, taking just one point from a possible 12.
The Australian’s first four games in charge will all be on the road — against Arsenal, Swansea in the Carabao Cup, Burnley, and Real Betis in the Europa League.
“It is what it is. First four games are away so I got a good look at the stadium today,” Postecoglou said. “Every Premier League fixture is challenging. It’s a great game. Mikel has got them off to a good start. They’ve strengthened over the summer,” he added.
Looking beyond the immediate challenges, Postecoglou underlined his long-term ambition for Forest: “I’ve said already I want to win trophies and that’s what I’ve done my whole career and that’s what I’ll do here.”
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