Expert: Jesse Lingard has ‘high-end grade one’ injury as Nottingham Forest face ‘big loss’
Nottingham Forest can expect to be without Jesse Lingard for around a month after the 30-year-old suffered a hamstring injury against Manchester United.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Lingard’s return to Old Trafford did not go to plan, with the Forest midfielder coming off after 53 minutes in the 3-0 defeat.
He was spotted with strapping on his right thigh in the lead-up to kick-off, and Steve Cooper confirmed on Sunday (1 January) that Lingard had suffered a hamstring injury.
Dinnery labelled the setback “significant” and cited the Premier League’s explosiveness as a reason for Lingard’s issues.
“We’re looking at a really high-end grade one, maybe moving into the lower end of grade two so it’s a fairly significant setback,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“We saw Lingard going into the game with his right thigh heavily strapped, so there were known issues with that hamstring problem going into the game.
“And you have to be very careful given the explosive and dynamic nature of the game and the intensity of the Premier League.
“If not monitored properly then you’re at risk of turning something you’re managing fairly conservatively into a setback, which could keep you on the sidelines for around a month.
“And he’s going to be a big loss. He certainly didn’t pull up any trees in that first half of the season for Forest but he will know that and the pressure will be there, particularly with Forest hovering precariously close to drop zone.“
In other news, Football Insider sources confirm that Nottingham Forest are lining up four January signings