Nottingham Forest’s 14 players are leaving to play international football as domestic action is momentarily halted.
For the first time in 2024/25, the Reds will have a two-week vacation from Premier League competition, allowing them to reflect on their start.
Forest have won one and drawn two games this season, and they are unbeaten in the top half of the league.
The biggest news from the international call-ups was that England called up Morgan Gibbs-White for the first time.
He hopes to impress Lee Carsley on the senior level after performing admirably for the under-21 squad.
However, it is not all sweetness and light for Forest players who are leaving, as one player has now withdrawn from duty for his country.
Nottingham Forest star withdraws from international duty
Ibrahim Sangare is the man in question, and the in-form midfielder will not be traveling to join the Ivory Coast side.
According to Sport-Ivoire, the footballer has had a minor injury checked by international medical personnel and is not fit to join them.
Instead, the player will receive treatment at the City Ground as Forest prepares for the next Premier League game against Liverpool.
Sangare has made significant improvements this season and presently leads the Premier League tackles list with 15 in the first three games.
He will now sit out of the Ivory Coast’s African Nations Cup qualifiers against Zambia and Chad.
Forest need Sangare fit and firing for the Premier League
Sangare has earned a lot of respect for this. Instead of going on international duty and maybe aggravating the situation, he’s opting to rest in England.
Regardless of what his critics say, the quantity of tackles he’s won shows that he’s deserved a place in the Forest team right now.
He has Nuno Espirito Santo’s support, and in the end, he’s performing his job by getting involved, winning tackles, and breaking up plays.
Some cynics seem determined to focus on what Sangare cannot achieve, which is not a fair appraisal of his current form.
Now, the expectation is that he will recover from this slight setback and be ready to face Liverpool at Anfield in a few weeks.