Depleted defensive resources resulted in Michael Dawson's surprise inclusion in Nottingham Forest's matchday squad at Sheffield Wednesday.
Being an unused substitute for the goalless draw at Hillsborough was the veteran centre-back's first involvement for the Reds all season.
He was a late addition to the bench after Tobias Figueiredo suffered a setback from a hamstring problem and Tyler Blackett was ruled out of the clash with a hip injury.
“Toby came back and trained, then just felt the injury slightly again," boss Chris Hughton told NottinghamshireLive.
“It was literally only yesterday that we made the decision to bring Michael into the squad.
“Tyler has also got a hip injury, so we were short on numbers.
“(Gaetan) Bong is back fit, but for what we’ve got, we didn’t want to take any chances."
Dawson's contract comes to an end in the summer, with a new one unlikely to be offered.
It could mean the 37-year-old doesn't get the chance to take to the pitch in the Garibaldi again.
But Hughton says there is no room for sentiment.
“In all honesty, this was not the type of game for sentiment," he said. "It was a game against a team that needed to get a result. We had to show the correct respect to the competition, which I think we did with the way we wanted to perform."
When Forest named their 25-man EFL squad for the second half of the campaign, they left one spot open - with Dawson one of three players fighting to fill it.
Now he has featured in the matchday 20 in the lunchtime clash, it means there is no chance of the other two - Harry Arter and Fouad Bachirou - picking up a few minutes before the season is out.
Both have been hampered by injury in their first year at the club, which Hughton says has made the acceptance of his decision easier to take.
“If their circumstances were different, then I think it would be harder for them," he said.
“But Bachirou has been injured for a lot of the season. Harry is back training, but hasn’t been with us for a good period.
“I think that changes things. If it was players who had been fit for a long time and knocking on my door, it would be different.
“But it has been a difficult season for those two, so it is perhaps a little bit more acceptable, as such."
