OGC Nice boss Didier Digard admits Nicolas Pepe took a fitness risk to play on Thursday, before dropping out of their squad this weekend as he hails his ‘incredible mindset’.

Lorient's French midfielder Romain Faivre (L) fights for the ball with Nice's Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and FC Lorient at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on March 19, 2023. (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
Lorient’s French midfielder Romain Faivre (L) fights for the ball with Nice’s Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and FC Lorient at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on March 19, 2023. (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal loanee Nicolas Pepe featured as a substitute and played 47 minutes for Nice against FC Basel on Thursday, including the entirety of extra time.

The winger was returning from injury, having missed Nice’s previous couple of games with a setback.

Sadly, Nice were eliminated anyway, losing 2-1. To make matters worse, Pepe was subsequently absent again at the weekend, amid fears of a possible setback.

Before the game, Nice boss Didier Digard admitted Pepe had taken a risk with his fitness to play on Thursday.

“Nico showed extraordinary commitment to play the match,” Digard said (via GFFN). “He even took risks in terms of his fitness. He wanted to help the team. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to.

“You could forget what he’s done or not see it from the outside. But he’s a guy with an incredible mindset who tries to help the team. Unfortunately, it didn’t work (on Thursday).”

Nice's Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe (R) celebrates with Nice's French defender Melvin Bard after scoring his team's third goal during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Montpellier Herault SC at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 11, 2023. - (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
Nice’s Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe (R) celebrates with Nice’s French defender Melvin Bard after scoring his team’s third goal during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Montpellier Herault SC at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 11, 2023. (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

L’Equipe reported this week that Pepe is heading for the exit with Nice, with the Ligue 1 club not set to sign the winger permanently after his loan spell ends.

Pepe’s deal didn’t contain an option to buy to begin with, so it was always fairly unlikely he would move there for good. But it seems Nice aren’t planning to push the issue through negotiations with Arsenal.

You’d imagine Pepe isn’t hugely keen to join Nice permanently either.

It looks like they’ll miss out on any kind of European football for next season, after their elimination from the Europa Conference League, so he’ll probably be setting his sights elsewhere.

The winger has been limited to 23 starts in all competitions this season as a result of his fitness setbacks.

He has eight goals in those games, making him Nice’s second top-scorer behind Gaetan Laborde.