Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton has revealed that Joe Lolley missed out on the Reds’ defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers due to illness, while he also suggested Jordi Osei-Tutu came off with a hamstring issue.

Forest’s frustrating start to the new Championship campaign continued on Wednesday night with them falling to a third successive defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers on a difficult evening for Hughton.

Lolley was a notable absentee from the squad as Forest aimed to get their season finally up and running after back-to-back defeats against Coventry City and Bournemouth.

However, the Reds were not able to find enough of a creative spark to take anything from the game despite Phillips Zinckernagel getting them back on level terms at one point.

Osei-Tutu was making his second appearance for Nottingham Forest since arriving on loan from Arsenal, but he was taken off the field just 17 minutes into the game against Blackburn. That will be a concern for the Reds who had been looking light in the full-back area prior to his arrival.

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live following the defeat against Blackburn, Hughton revealed that Osei-Tutu suffered a hamstring issue but he does not feel it is something that will prove to be too serious. While he also suggested that Lolley’s absence had been down to illness and he would be assessed before the weekend.

He said: “I must admit, I don’t know. I think it’s his hamstring.

“I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just something he felt.

“Joe’s ill. We’ll see where we are, as regards going into the weekend.”

The verdict

This is somewhat positive news for Forest to have after what was another very difficult evening for them in the Championship against Blackburn.

Hughton is starting to feel the pressure from supporters now after a slow start to the campaign and he will be needing all of his most important squad players to help him turn things around.

Forest missed Lolley’s creative presence down the flanks against Blackburn and despite the inventiveness of Zinckernagel and him getting on the score sheet, they were unable to pose enough of a threat to Blackburn’s defence to get something from the game.

The Reds will hope that Lolley can be fit enough to return to action for their game against Stoke City on Saturday. It will be vital that he returns as soon as possible as they aim to start finding more productivity in the final third.

While Osei-Tutu’s injury will have been a major concern considering he was brought into relieve some pressure on Forest’s full-back situation. However, it seems that he will not be out of action for too long and his withdrawal was more of a precaution to prevent him from suffering any further damage.