SUPER Eagles defender Ola Aina has been ruled out for months with the hamsting injury he sustained while on international duty with Nigeria.
The Nottingham Forest full-back was substituted off in the 10th minute of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against South Africa on Tuesday, replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Aina will not only miss crucial English Premier League and Europa League fixtures for Forest under their new manager, he will also be unavailable for Nigeria in World Cup qualifiers.
Postecoglou, who took over from Nuno Espirito Santo this week, is facing the prospect of being without Aina until the end of the year, according to reports.
Tests done on Aina have revealed that he will be out of action until the first week of December at the earliest.
The former Chelsea and Torino full-back has played every minute in the Premier League so far this season and was a key player under Nuno in the last campaign.
Aina’s absence for such a long period means that he has been excluded from Forest’s Premier League squad, which was submitted on Thursday.
According to Telegraph Sport, Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who was left out of Forest’s Europa League squad, will now be named in the domestic squad after Aina’s injury.
Aina can be re-registered after the winter transfer window.
Aina’s absence leaves Postecoglou with a selection dilemma ahead of Forest’s trip to Arsenal as new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Wales international Neco Williams could switch from left to right-back, or there could be a debut for £13m summer signing Nicolo Savona.
On the international front, Aina will be unavailable for the Super Eagles’ final two World Cup qualifiers in October away to Lesotho and at home to Benin Republic.