Chris Hughton has confirmed that Joe Lolley is set to see a specialist, with a hamstring injury set to end his season prematurely.

Lolley has endured a stop-start season at the City Ground, making 28 appearances in the Championship and starting 16 times.

The winger was reintroduced to the starting line-up as Forest took on Reading at the weekend, but his afternoon ended prematurely.

Lolley pulled up with a hamstring problem as he drove towards goal, and hobbled off shortly before the interval as he was replaced by Anthony Knockaert.

The winger hinted on Instagram that his season was over, and speaking in his pre-match press conference yesterday, Hughton revealed that appears to be the case.

Via Nottinghamshire Live, he said: "We are still determining that and he will see a specialist to find out the extent of it, but he is going to be out for a good period of time, so that’s bad news.

“There’s every chance he could be out for the season. We always try to be as optimistic as possible, but it’s starting to look that way. It’s disappointing for us, but mostly for Joe."

Lolley has scored one goal and chipped in with three assists for Forest this season, and this season has been a below-par one by his standards.

The winger contributed to 19 goals in all competitions under Sabri Lamouchi last term, and 22 the season before.

The Verdict

It's a huge shame for Lolley and it's a tough way to end what has been a frustrating campaign for everyone at the club.

He hasn't been able to cement a place in the side and has been in and out of the team due to injuries.

Perhaps it could be a blessing in disguise for him to rest and recover for the latter stages of the season, and then have a full pre-season before coming back fit and firing.