Nottingham Forest midfielder Harry Arter made a step up in his recovery from injury as he started for the club’s U23 side against Crewe Alexandra on Monday afternoon.
The 31-year-old has been out of action since January with a calf injury with his last appearance coming in the FA Cup third round against Cardiff City.
Arter returned to training last week, with Chris Hughton confirming that he was considered to be included in the squad for Saturday’s draw vs Reading.
Arter did however miss out on a place in the matchday squad, but was included in the starting lineup for the U23s as he aimed to build up match fitness.
The midfielder was named in the starting eleven for the match played at the Nigel Doughty Academy, but was withdrawn from the field after just 23 minutes, with Forest falling to a 2-0 defeat.
Forest have confirmed that the midfielder was taken off as a ‘precaution; after taking a ‘knock’ during the match.
It is unknown if the problem will mean he is out of contention for the matchday squad against Norwich City on Wednesday night.
Following the defeat, U23 manager Andy Reid spoke of his frustration at the result.
“It was a scrappy game, there wasn’t much in it. We gave away a poor goal early on, came back into the game and dominated really, we dominated territory and we dominated possession and had plenty of chances,” he told the club’s official website.
“It is a frustrating one, it has been a frustrating couple of weeks, but we need to work even harder and we will. We are back on the training ground, there is a group training and these guys will do a recovery session, and we have two games next week to put it right so there are plenty of opportunities and we will be ready.”
