Nottingham Forest hope to have Ola Aina available for their trip Arsenal after returning from international duty with Nigeria ahead of schedule last week.
Aina has been in superb form this season, almost ever-present in Nuno Espirito Santo’s starting XI with Forest riding high in fifth place.
The right-back completed the full 90 minutes in the 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest prior to the international break and played 83 minutes for Nigeria in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin last Thursday.
The former Chelsea youngster was replaced late on, subsequently receiving treatment for an issue suffered in the match.
That 1-1 draw against Benin ensured Nigeria qualified for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations with a game to spare.
With Forest in direct communication with the Nigerian FA, an agreement was met to allow Aina to miss Monday’s game against Rwanda, returning to the UK late last week for treatment back at Forest.
‘Relationship is something that is key,’ Nigeria’s interim coach Austin Eguavoen said in an interview with All Nigeria Soccer.
‘Before our match against Benin, I spoke with an official from Nottingham Forest, and subsequently received a message from Nuno, the manager, asking if we could release Ola Aina since they are facing Arsenal next weekend.
‘I agreed, stating that if we managed to get a positive result in Côte d’Ivoire, we’d maintain our good rapport. We have alternative players available, so in light of this, it was important to sustain the relationship.’
An official statement from the Nigeria Football Federation added: ‘English Premier League side Nottingham Forest fervently requested that wing-back Olaoluwa Aina be permitted to return to the UK for their pivotal match, having already secured qualification for AFCON.’
Aina will be assessed this week with reports in Nigeria claiming the reason for his substitution last week may have been fatigue.
Forest head to north London to take on Arsenal at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
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