Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has revealed that Scott McKenna will miss the rest of the season with a fractured collarbone.
After spending two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, McKenna returned to the Forest lineup for a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on April 16.
The Scotland international kept his place in the side for Saturday's game with Liverpool, but he was forced off after half-an-hour through injury.
The contest was goalless at the time of McKenna's withdrawal, but Forest went on to lose 3-2 following an entertaining second period.
A fourth consecutive defeat leaves Forest one point adrift of safety, and their hopes of beating the drop have been dealt a blow with the news that McKenna will miss the club's final six games of the season.
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"It's not great news, unfortunately. He's fractured his collarbone, so that's him done for the season," Cooper told reporters ahead of Wednesday's home meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.
"It's a blow. A real blow for him, having just returned back from a hamstring injury and worked so hard to get back.
"He's a great professional, who always gives his best in everything he does. For him to suffer the bad luck he has done with this injury is really unfortunate.
"He's naturally down. He's a fairly positive guy anyway and is pretty low-key, he just gets on with his work. He's a good team man. He would have loved to have continued to commit everything for the rest of the season, but unfortunately that's not the case."
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McKenna joins a lengthy injury list, which includes his fellow defender Willy Boly, who is still some way off from recovering from a hamstring injury.
"He's not close to playing at the moment, Willy," Cooper added. "It was a serious hamstring injury he picked up.
"He's definitely making progress, so we'll see. He is back on the grass, but he's right at the early stages of his recovery."
Cooper is left with Joe Worrall, Felipe and Moussa Niakhate as his three central defensive options for Wednesday's encounter.
