Sean Dyche has confirmed that Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates is sidelined for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury, but the Reds cannot replace him in their Europa League squad.
Forest are in the Netherlands where, on Thursday, they take on FC Utrecht in their fifth Europa League League Phase game, but they will be without midfielder Yates.
The 28-year-old was substituted with a hamstring issue just 16 minutes after coming on at halftime against Everton on Saturday, with Dyche confirming his lay-off.
“Ryan Yates has got a situation with his hamstring that’s not going to be quick,” Dyche revealed.
“We don’t think it’s too serious in the sense of needing anything done [surgery], but I think it’s going to be a slow one.”
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UEFA squad replacement rules
This week, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur registered Gabriel Jesus and Mathys Tel to their respective Champions League squads, utilising a lesser-known UEFA rule which allows clubs to replace a long-term injured player during the league phase.
UEFA rule 31.14C states that a club may replace a player in their squad who is injured for 60 days or more, but if the removed player recovers quicker than that, they are still prohibited from playing for the 60-day period.
There has been some suggestion online that Nottingham Forest could now replace Yates in their Europa League squad, utilising the same rule, but that is not the case.
The first, most pressing reason, is that Forest have already utilised this rule, and UEFA say that clubs may only replace one player.
When Ola Aina became injured after the UEFA registration window, then-Forest boss Ange Postecoglou opted to replace him in the squad with Oleksandr Zinchenko.
With the initial deadline having already passed, this would count as the Reds’ one permitted ’60-day injury replacement,’ making the idea of temporarily replacing Yates impossible.
Secondly, UEFA hold strict homegrown rules, which Forest have already felt the brunt of this season.
Clubs must include at least eight players who are ‘homegrown’ in their nation, but, crucially, four of those must be homegrown at the specific club.
A player is deemed homegrown if they were trained in a nation, or by a specific club, for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
For each homegrown player a club is unable to provide, a gap must be left in the squad.
Forest have registered six homegrown players in their Europa League squad, meaning two gaps. But because the only player trained at the club is Yates, three spaces had to be left unfilled in the squad to satisfy the requirement.
This is why Forest could only name 22 players out of a possible 25 in their Europa League squad at the start of the season, which saw Omari Hutchinson and, temporarily, Zinchenko excluded.
Because of this, even if a second change to their squad was permitted, which it is not, Forest could only replace Yates with a player trained at the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21, and, at present, there is no player who fills that criteria.
