Joao Carvalho gave Nottingham Forest an injury worry during their first pre-season outing in which they secured a narrow 2-1 victory at Alfreton Town on a blisteringly hot day in Derbyshire.
The Portuguese playmaker was on the wrong end of a heavy challenge from Alfreton’s Dom Smith on the stroke of half-time which went unpunished.
That challenge enraged the Forest bench, with coach Gareth Holmes remonstrating with referee Harry Jones as the players left the pitch at half-time.
Carvalho received lengthy treatment on the pitch before hobbling off and was unable to take part in the second half - Forest's record signing had his leg strapped as he took his place in the stands for the second period.
As it was, Jimmy Gilligan, who took charge of the game following Friday’s sacking of Martin O’Neill, opted to change the entire 11 for the second period with the score at 1-1 after Brennan Johnson had cancelled out Dec Bacon's opener.
Forest’s much-changed side had to be patient in the second half against the non-league outfit, with new signing Sammy Ameobi crashing off a post before Iranian striker Karim Ansarifard turned in the winner courtesy of Ameobi’s cross in the 83rd minute.
Carvalho’s injury will be assessed by the Reds’ medical staff as the squad prepare to fly out to Spain on Sunday for their week-long training camp.
New boss Sabri Lamouchi was in the stands at the Impact Arena after being named O’Neill’s successor shortly after his departure was confirmed, and he’ll hope that Carvalho is fit to be involved in Tuesday’s game with Dundee at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia.
