Yohan Benalouane suffered a serious skull injury after making his debut for Nottingham Forest and showed supporters on social media that he may have ‘broken’ some bone in the process. The 31-year-old signed an 18-month loan deal from Leicester on January 18 and was brought straight into the side against Bristol City and Wigan Athletic.
It was against Wigan that saw him pick up the injury, but he did manage to complete the 90 minutes and steer Forest to victory at the City Ground. Benalouane posted a picture on his Instagram with the caption: “When the passion is stronger than all events, broken but it’s not enough to stop us. Massive win today.”
The Tunisian international may have a damaged temporal bone, but it’s unknown if he’ll be sidelined for a period of time with the injury. Benalouane appears to be in good spirits, however, as he thanked supporters on Twitter after the Wigan clash, but his potential absence could be a big blow.
Forest are short on options at the back due to an injury crisis. Michael Hefele, Tobias Figueiredo and Michael Dawson are all out of action, so Martin O’Neill can’t afford to lose Benalouane too. The Reds next travel to St Andrews to face Birmingham City on February 2 and could have a makeshift backline if the 31-year-old isn’t available.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Nottingham Forest ‘tracking’ central defender who ‘could be allowed to leave’ in January
