Yohan Benalouane was omitted from Nottingham Forest’s training camp in Greece earlier this month, with Sabri Lamouchi selecting Michael Dawson, Alexander Milosevic, Tobias Figueiredo and Joe Worrall as his centre-back options. According to Paul Taylor of Nottinghamshire Live, Benalouane’s absence was because a hip problem.
The 32-year-old’s situation isn’t considered to be serious, but it was enough to keep him out of the travelling party that went to Greece. Benalouane sat out as Forest beat Atromitos 3-0 at the Peristeri Stadium on July 13 and is likely to miss the Reds’ clash with Olympiacos on July 16 before they return home from the training camp.
Benalouane might have an uncertain future at Forest after his mixed debut season in 2018/19. The Tunisian international had disciplinary problems – seven yellow cards and two reds in just 14 appearances – conceded 20 goals and kept only three clean sheets. He’ll have stiff competition for a place in the defence too.
Lamouchi has Dawson, Milosevic, Figueiredo, Worrall, Benalouane and Jack Robinson who can all play at centre-back next season which means one or two players could miss out. If Benalouane isn’t featuring due to the hip injury, he risks losing his spot in the side.