Nottingham Forest defender Scott McKenna is a doubt for the Reds' trip to Leicester City on Monday night.

The lowdown

Forest travel to the home of their Midlands rivals in a clash between the bottom two in the Premier League.

Steve Cooper's side are 19th in the table prior to kick-off, having picked up just four points from their first seven matches and off the back of four successive losses. The only team below them are the Foxes, who have managed just one draw prior to six straight defeats.

McKenna played the full 90 minutes for Scotland in their Hampden Park double header against Ukraine and Republic of Ireland last month, but missed their second game against the former due to a knock.

The latest

Josh Holland, a Midlands football journalist for Reach PLC, relayed the update on the 25-year-old via Twitter, with Forest suffering a body blow ahead of the trip to The King Power Stadium.

He tweeted: "Scott McKenna is an injury doubt for Monday’s East Midlands clash with Nottingham Forest."

The verdict

McKenna could be a big loss for Forest in a crucial fixture for both teams.

He has played every top-flight minute so far this season, so Steve Cooper clearly regards him as a very important player. That's no surprise, as the centre-back ranks in the Reds' top three for aerial duels won (2.1), clearances (3.7) and blocks (1.1) per game (via WhoScored).

Former Celtic player Peter Grant has called him 'old school', while BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher believes that he is a big part of the reason why Forest 'are in the Premier League'.

With Joe Worrall and Moussa Niakhate already ruled out, the centre-back department at the City Ground has been hit pretty hard, so this news on McKenna is the last thing that Cooper needs in his current predicament.