Nottingham Forest have been rocked by the news that full-back Ola Aina has suffered a serious hamstring injury.

The full-back, a crucial part of the success the east Midlands club enjoyed under Nuno Espirito Santo, was forced off during Nigeria’s  World Cup qualifier against South Africa on Tuesday.

New Forest boss Ange Postecoglou would have been hoping for a positive update on the former Fulham defender, but The Telegraph report that Aina will be out of action for the next three months.

Postecoglou, meanwhile, said he knew he was going to be sacked at Tottenham even before they won the Europa League.

The Australian is back in work after replacing Nuno at The City Ground, less than three months after leaving Spurs.

He was sacked by the north London club just 16 days after finally ending their trophy drought when they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final.

That success came at the expense of their league form as a 17th-placed finish is their worst in Premier League history.

‘It wasn’t great, I knew it was coming so it wasn’t a surprise,’ he said. ‘I knew it was coming a fair way before the final.

‘But we won it and had the parade and had a great three days and I didn’t want to tarnish that, but I knew it was done.

‘From my perspective, I had the chance to process it. Whether I feel it was unjust, other people make those decisions, they make those determinations.

‘That’s up to them, you have to ask them their own reasoning for it.

‘What I do know is I had two years where it was very, very challenging but we were with some fantastic people in the football department.

‘The supporters, we’ve put through some tough times, but there isn’t a Spurs supporter that I come across now that doesn’t want to hug me and take me home for dinner.

‘So I must have done something right. I think ultimately that’s what we do it for. I’m very proud of what we achieved there. It will always take a special place in my heart.

‘How it ended, I don’t really think about it a lot. To be fair, I’ve done it a couple of times myself. I left Celtic and I’m sure that they were disappointed when I left. You understand that’s part of the business we’re in.

‘But that’s okay. It’s allowed me now to move into this (Forest) and maybe that’s happened for a reason.’

Ola Aina looks set to be unavailable for Nottingham Forest’s trip to face Arsenal on Saturday after picking up an injury on international duty.

Aina has been a vital part of Forest’s side in recent seasons and played every minute of their first three games of the new Premier League campaign.

However, Forest were dealt a blow on Tuesday after the left-back was forced off just 10 minutes into Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with South Africa.

Aina was able to walk off the pitch was clearly in discomfort in the early stages of the match.

Earlier on that day, Forest had remarkably parted ways with Nuno Espirito Santo despite him guiding the club back into Europe for the first time since 1996.

Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was swiftly brought in as his replacement, but it appears the Australian will be without Aina’s services for his first game in the dugout.

‘We have a clean bill of health apart from Aina. He had a problem with the national team,’ Postecoglou said in his first press conference when asked about injuries ahead of their clash with Arsenal.

‘The rest of the boys, today is the first fay I’ve had my eyes on them and they’re all fine. Zinchenko is the only one who isn’t fine.’

Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived at Forest on deadline day from Arsenal, but he left-back will be unable to fill in for Aina against his parent cluby.

Instead, Nicolo Savona is expected to deputise at left-back having signed from Juventus in the summer.

Postecoglou did not win any of his four games against Arsenal while in charge of Tottenham, and is expecting another tough game after the Gunners’ summer spending.

‘It is what it is. First four games are away so I got a good look at the stadium today,’ he said.

‘Every Premier League fixture is challenging. It’s a great game. Mikel (Arteta) has got them off to a good start. They’ve strengthened over the summer.’

Mikel Arteta’s side are also dealing with their fair share of injuries, with Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, William Saliba, Christian Norgaard and Gabriel Jesus not expected to play a part on Saturday.

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