Breaking: Nottingham Forest player who was called up for his maiden international assignment has withdrawn due to a minor injury.
Nottingham Forest have 14 players jetting off to play international football as domestic action stops temporarily.
For the first time during 2024/25, the Reds will enjoy a two-week break from Premier League action and will be able to take stock of their start.
Forest have picked up a victory and two draws so far this season and are unbeaten inside the top half of the top flight.
The big news from the international call-ups was that Morgan Gibbs-White had been called up by England for the first time.
He will hope to impress Lee Carsley on the senior stage after playing brilliantly under him for the under-21 setup.
However, it’s not all sweetness and light for the contingency of Forest players jetting off and one player has now pulled out of duty for his country.
Nottingham Forest star withdraws from international duty
The player in question is Ibrahim Sangare and the in-form midfielder won’t be jetting off to meet up with the Ivory Coast squad.
According to Sport-Ivoire, the player has had a minor injury assessed by the international medical staff and he’s not fit enough to join up with them
Instead, the player will have some treatment back at the City Ground as Forest look to get him fit for the next Premier League game against Liverpool.
Sangare has been vastly improved this season and currently tops the Premier League tackles chart with 15 tackles from the first three games.
Now, he will sit out for the Ivory Coast as they take on Zambia and Chad in African Nations Cup qualifiers.
Forest need Sangare fit and firing for the Premier League
Sangare deserves a lot of respect for this. Instead of going on international duty anyway and risking aggravating things further, he’s going to rest up in England.
Despite what his critics say, the number of tackles he’s won showcases that he’s worth a place in the Forest team at present.
He has the backing of Nuno Espirito Santo and ultimately, by getting stuck in, winning tackles and breaking up the play, he’s doing the job he’s paid to do.
Some cynics seem hell-bent on focusing on what Sangare can’t do and that isn’t really a fair assessment of his form at present.
Now, the hope will be that he can recover from this minor setback and return ready to make an impact against Liverpool at Anfield in a couple of weeks.
On deadline day, the club added just two new players, with James Ward-Prowse joining from West Ham and Morato signing from Benfica.
It took the total amount of new signings to 11 players for the summer and that represents a shift in strategy when it comes to recruitment.
One area of the squad that couldn’t be bolstered was at the top of the pitch, with moves for a number of strikers going south.
