Michael Dawson is likely to miss Nottingham Forest's next two games through injury, after limping out of the Reds' 3-2 win at Stoke City on Friday night.
Boss Sabri Lamouchi confirmed the captain would sit out Tuesday's trip to Blackburn and likely also Saturday's home clash with Brentford, after picking up a calf injury at the bet365 Stadium.
After leaving the pitch 34 minutes in to be replaced by Chema Rodriguez, Dawson headed straight down the tunnel with a club physio, while the Frenchman suggesting afterwards that it would be unlikely to see the 35-year-old before the international break next weekend.
“He has a problem in the calf. We will check him on Monday," he said. “I am not a doctor, but I don’t think he will be fit for Blackburn. Maybe Brentford as well, but I’m not sure."
Forest went on to score two minutes after Dawson left, when Joe Lolley crashed in a volley following a fumble from England goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Having fallen behind to Lee Gregory's 10th minute opener, that leveled it up before Sammy Ameobi's fine header made it 2-1, and then Lewis Grabban pounced to make it 3-1.
Stoke pulled one back through James McLean but Forest held on to go top of the league for the first time since 2014.
