Swansea City’s Marko Stamenic will be denied a rapid reunion with his former Nottingham Forest teammates on Wednesday after injury ruled him out of the Carabao Cup third round tie.
The Swans - who host Premier League opponents in the only tie of the evening - are resigned to being without Stamenic because of a groin injury.
The New Zealander flew home for back-to-back friendly fixtures against Australia in last week’s international break, but played in neither.
Swans head coach Alan Sheehan confirmed that Stamenic will not figure when new Forest manager Ange Postecoglou brings his team to the Swansea.com Stadium.
“There is no change on Marko’s situation - he’s won’t be available for this game, along with Ricardo Santos and Jay Fulton,” said Sheehan.
But another of Sheehan's new faces from the transfer window - £6m striker Adam Idah - may well make his first start after coming on as a substitute at the weekend in the 2-2 draw at home to Hull City.
“It could be him,” admitted Sheehan when asked about his striking options.
“We keep speaking about having that competitive environment for individual specific positions all over the pitch.”
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On loan recruits Ishe Samuels-Smith and Manuel Benson could also make their first full appearances for the club.
Both Chelsea defender Samuels-Smith and Burnley winger Benson were unused substitutes in the draw against Hull, where Sheehan’s side surrendered a goal deep into stoppage time.
The Swans are unbeaten at home so far this season overcame both Crawley and Plymouth - on penalties - to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup.
But Forest are likely to prove a far tougher proposition, even in their current start of turmoil after sacking Nuno Espirito Santo as manager after a falling out with owner Evangelos Marinakis and replacing him with Postecoglou.
Former Tottenham manager Postecoglou began his stint in charge with a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last weekend and faces another difficult looking away trip to Burnley this Saturday.
Sheehan expects Forest to rotate their squad selection in between those two Premier league fixtures, but is still expecting strong opposition.
“We need to go and be as competitive as we can be against Forrest because you're playing against a Premier League team and you know if your space between players, and their on-field relationships aren't good, you will get punished.
“These teams in the Premier League - there's massive different levels right now between us, even for the teams that go from the Championship to the Premier League.
“So, we've got to respect them but the best way to respect these teams is to go up against them and see how far we are away.”
Postecoglou has set his sights on lifting the EFL Cup as he looks to bring silverware back to the City Ground.
Forest’s last major triumph came in this competition back in 1990 and both Postecoglou and owner Marinakis have made clear that winning trophies is the ultimate objective.
The Australian believes this contest offers an early platform to deliver on that ambition.
"I think so, yes [it is a chance to win a trophy]. I got to the semi-finals last year [with Tottenham, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Liverpool]," Postecoglou said.
"Every opportunity you have to win a trophy, you shouldn't let it go. It's hard to win things, especially when you're at a club that has had success in the past and the supporters want more of it.
"We'll give ourselves every opportunity to have a win.
"In the context of the club's ambitions, where we are in terms of the season with me coming in, it's a great opportunity for us to implement some things we want to. It's an important game."
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Forest will have to do without defender Murillo, who was forced off against Arsenal, with Nicolo Savona stepping in at the weekend.
James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Arnaud Kalimuendo are all pushing for starts, with the manager eager to see them integrated quickly.
"They haven't had a chance to get out there, some haven't played at all yet," Postecoglou explained.
"Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to get them out there, get them playing and get them feeling what it's like to play for the club and get some match fitness into them.
"We are going to need all the players and the last thing we want is to have players who haven't played for over a month."
