Nottingham Forest's difficult start to the 2021/22 campaign continued last night as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.

Having failed to pick up a point in their first two league fixtures of the season, the Reds would have been hoping to deliver an encouraging display in-front of their supporters at the City Ground in their clash with Tony Mowbray's side.

However, it was the visitors who emerged victorious as goals from Daniel Ayala and Darragh Lenihan allowed Blackburn to move up to 6th in the Championship standings.

Forest's misery in this fixture was compounded by a late red card for Jordan Gabriel who is now set to miss the club's clash with Stoke City this weekend.

The Reds are currently facing somewhat of a crisis at full-back as summer signing Jordi Osei-Tuti limped off during yesterday's game.

Osei-Tuti, who had been filling in at left-back for the suspended Gaetan Bong, joined Forest on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal earlier this month.

Whilst the 22-year-old would have been hoping to establish himself as a mainstay in Hughton's starting eleven following his switch, he may now be forced to watch on from the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Making reference to Osei-Tuti, Hughton has revealed that whilst he doesn't believe that the defender's issue is too serious, he did suggest that the loanee had potentially suffered a hamstring injury against Blackburn.

Speaking to the Nottingham Post after his side's latest setback in the Championship about Osei-Tuti's problem, the Forest boss said: "I must admit, I don't know.

"I think it's his hamstring.

"I don't think it's bad.

"It's just something he felt."

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Although Forest supporters may be breathing a sigh of relief that Osei-Tuti's injury is seemingly not as bad as first feared, Hughton is now facing a selection dilemma ahead of his side's trip to the bet365 Stadium.

If the Reds boss is looking to stick with his current formation, he may need to turn to Bong and Fin Back for inspiration.

Whilst Bong knows what it takes to compete at this level due to the fact that he has played 66 games in the Championship during his career, Back has only featured on two occasions for Forest.

Considering that the Reds need to produce a positive display against Stoke in order to kick-start their season, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Hughton decides to make some drastic changes to his starting eleven on Saturday.

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