Oleksandr Zinchenko missed Nottingham Forest’s match against Bournemouth on Sunday due to injury, despite Sean Dyche’s initial low-key assessment of the problem.
Arsenal loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko was obviously unhappy as he left the field of play during Thursday’s Europa League game between Nottingham Forest and FC Porto, but manager Sean Dyche didn’t immediately rule him out of the following fixture against Bournemouth.
“Zinchenko, after coming off, we’ll wait and see how that is as well, that one’s going to be touch and go, I think,” Dyche said in his pre-match press conference.
Despite the suggestion that there was at least a possibility Zinchenko could make an immediate comeback, that didn’t turn out to be the case. The 28-year-old sat out of Sunday’s squad to face Bournemouth completely, watching on as his loan side lost 2-0.
The injury has been reported to be a groin issue, which will be a particular concern as Zinchenko missed recent matches against Midtylland and Newcastle United with the same problem, as well as skipping the October international break.
On top of that, Zinchenko’s fitness history isn’t the most encouraging in general. In his three seasons at Arsenal, the defender missed 48 games through injury.
The one positive for Zinchenko right now is that Forest don’t have a midweek fixture. The team won’t be in action until they host Manchester United next Saturday, giving his injury another week to settle.
Forest boss Dyche should have a clearer picture of the situation by the time he next faces the media.