10,781 days on from their UEFA Cup quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich in 1996, Nottingham Forest return to European action tonight, Soccernet.ng reports.
Ange Postecoglou eyes another Europa League triumph, and the Reds kick off with a trip to Spain to face Real Betis tonight.
However, they'll be without Super Eagles defender, Ola Aina, after he suffered a hamstring injury in Nigeria's 1-1 draw against South Africa earlier this month. He's had surgery and will be out until December at least.
Despite being already included in Forest's UEFA Europa League squad for the tournament, the former Chelsea man was delisted in place of new signing – Oleksandr Zinchenko. This was only possible thanks to UEFA's new rule.
Nottingham Forest take advantage of UEFA rule change
The UEFA Executive Committee recently amended squad regulations for all European club competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
The adjustment makes room for clubs to temporarily replace an outfield player under the specific conditions of ‘long-term injuries or illnesses' that last for at least 60 days.
Should the originally included player recover before 60 days, he won't be able to play in the competition.
With Aina's return scheduled for December and the AFCON tournament set to be held in the same month, his return to European football will be in 2026.
In a statement, UEFA said: “The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure.”
Clubs are required to provide UEFA with the appropriate medical information to ensure that the change is not tactical, and in turn, UEFA have the right to investigate the situation.
With Aina out of the fold and Zinchenko entering the fray, Ange Postecoglou is pleased with the squad at his disposal.
“Bringing Zinchenko in is brilliant for us. Losing Ola [Aina] was a massive blow and we'd be really short of full-backs if we weren't allowed to bring Oleksandr in,” the 2025 UEFA Europa League winner said in quotes revealed by BBC Sports UK.
“I'm super pleased that the amendment to the rule has been made. He will be huge.
“You can already see that he's a quality player, he's got experience at the highest level of European football, so it's great to bring him in.
“I am a big fan of continental competition, representative football, international football. I know again the congested calendar. As clubs we often pay a price.
“We obviously lost Ola Aina from international duty, but the benefits of players playing in those kinds of competitions and playing in Europe and testing themselves in different kinds of environments and against different types of players, it does allow them to grow in ways where if they were just playing a domestic competition,” Ange concluded.
