Alfa Semedo was left out of Nottingham Forest’s matchday squad in Tuesday’s EFL Cup clash with Arsenal and Sabri Lamouchi has revealed why. The 22-year-old and John Bostock picked up surprise injuries which forced the Reds boss to pick Tiago Silva and Brennan Johnson in midfield.
Lamouchi told Nottinghamshire Live: “I hope they are not too serious. I was surprised to have these two injured. We will check how they are today. Of course we don’t have a lot of choice, but as I have always said, we don’t have problems – we will find solutions.”
Semedo has made nine appearances in all competitions since joining Forest on loan from Benfica, scoring one goal for his troubles. The defensive-midfielder has been a regular in the Championship and EFL Cup, but he’s been ruled out of action without an estimated return date.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting with Stoke City, Lamouchi has Joao Carvalho, Ben Watson, Samba Sow and Tiago Silva at his disposal while Ryan Yates is on the recovery trail too. Forest have so much competition in midfield, Claudio Yacob and Liam Bridcutt have been on the periphery.
Even Semedo has lost his starting place in recent weeks – three of his last four league appearances for Forest have come from the bench. There’s no information from Nottinghamshire Live whether Semedo will return in time to face Stoke, but Lamouchi is still spoilt for choice regardless.
Watson can partner Sow in the engine room with Carvaho operating in an advanced playmaker role. Silva should provide cover too.
