The manager of Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santos has revealed that Super Eagles of Nigeria defender, Ola Aina, played the 2023 AFCON final with an injury.

Ola Aina was one of the Super Eagles of Nigeria players who played virtually all the games in the 2023 AFCON.

Aina was seen as the Eagles’ best player in the tournament but played below expectation in most parts of the 2023 AFCON final against the hosts, Ivory Coast, on February 11, 2023.

Due to his slow form of play, the Ivorians enjoyed their time in the game as they defeated the Super Eagles 2-1 to win their fourth AFCON.

Ahead of Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa Premier League game at 4 p.m. later today, February 24, coach Nuno Espirito Santos revealed that Ola Aina sustained the injury during the 2023 AFCON semi-final clash against South Africa.

The semi-final clash ended in a 1-1 draw and was decided by penalties in which Aina missed his kick. But Nigeria went on to win the shootout with a 4-2 scoreline.

Due to the injury, Aina who was highly criticized for his poor performance in the 2023 AFCON final, has not been available for Nottingham Forest since the tournament ended.

Espirito Santo said: “Ola got injured in the semi-final and played the final with an injury, he tried but didn’t really play in the final.

“Ibrahim, the same, he was struggling since he was there at the AFCON.

“So the three of them (Ola, Willy, Ibrahim) are not available for this match, which is bad for us. We don’t have a date for their return.”