Nottingham Forest fans on Twitter have been reacting to the news that Tendayi Darikwa will miss a large portion of the season due to a knee injury.
Darikwa will be a huge miss for the East Midlands club as he is their only senior right-back after Saidy Janko moved to Young Boys after his loan spell last season.
The Zimbabwean made 28 appearances for the Reds last term as he rotated with both Janko and Sam Byram.
He was in line to be a key player for Sabri Lamouchi’s side in the 2019/20 season as the new manager stated that he is the number one choice in his position.
Amongst all the get well soon messages some fans are hoping that during his time on the sidelines Darikwa can heal and come back even stronger.
Hope it turns out to be more of a blessing in disguise for you. Most importantly though heal up well and come back stronger. I did both mine if you need any inspiration. Wore a Cohen shirt when I had the ops for good luck. ????????♂️ Maybe that was flawed logic – surgeon’s name too!
— Forest FanBase (@ForestFanBase) August 1, 2019
Speedy recovery and come back even stronger ????
— keith NFFC shelton (@keefpsycho) August 2, 2019
????♂️ bad time but wish you speedy recovery #nffc ☆☆ come back stronger
— Daz Price (@DazPrice7) August 1, 2019
Other supporters expressed their disappointment at this news as they feel that Forest will be much weaker without their first-choice full-back.
#NFFC will be weaker without you. Keep your chin up & hope to see you back in ????⚪️ again soon!! COYR
— VitalForest (@VitalForest) August 2, 2019
Get well soon pal you will be missed big time
— Stevenffcsheltz ⭐️⭐️ (@ForestfcSs) August 1, 2019
I’m gutted! You’re our most improved player over the last couple of years. Solid as a rock. Good luck with the recovery.
— Ben Heffer (@IlsonRedDog) August 2, 2019
Of course, some Twitter users were speculating about who could replace Darikwa at right-back. Matty Cash’s name was mentioned as he had played in that position during pre-season, but 18-year-old Jayden Richardson was also named as a potential replacement.
Get well soon. Opens the door for someone else though. Will the gaffer put some trust in the young lad Richardson? Play Matty Cash there? Or bring someone in?
— Greg Smith ⭐⭐ NFFC (@gregsmith2511) August 1, 2019
With Darikwa’s injury which is a massive blow looks like we’ll have Cash and Richardson as RBs. Cash good attacking wise but still not great and Richardson is decent so have so see what’s what. Would prefer if we signed someone with more experience in RB but hey ho we move #nffc
— Katie ❁ (@KatieNeale22) August 1, 2019