Jesse Lingard pulls OUT of the Nottingham Forest line-up minutes before kick-off

Jesse Lingard has missed the return to Old Trafford after picking up an injury in the warm-up ahead of Nottingham Forest’s clash with Manchester United.

The former United attacker was set to start for Forest in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against his former team, but was forced to withdraw from the squad just minutes from kick-off and was replaced by Emmanuel Dennis.

It is the second time injury has halted his return to his old pitch, after he was substituted in the Premier League match between the teams earlier in the season.

The injury is another blow for Lingard, who has suffered a shaky start to his career at the City Ground after joining the club on a much talked about free transfer last summer.

Former Red Devils coach René Meulensteen was watching the game on BBC Radio 5 live and could sympathize with the 30-year-old’s frustration.

Jesse Lingard was injured in the warm-up before Forest’s semi-final second leg against his former team Man Utd

Meulensteen said: “Jesse Lingard must have looked forward to this game a lot, to make a good impression and help Nottingham Forest put in a strong performance.”

The attacking midfielder was seen working with a Forest manager on the Old Trafford pitch before the match, but appeared to flinch as he stretched out and was promptly dropped from the starting eleven.

Lingard has enjoyed a more successful run in Forest’s Carabao Cup campaign, scoring his only two goals for the club in the competition and providing two assists in just the three games he has featured.

Lingard’s best performances this season have been saved for Forest’s Carabao Cup race

It is the second time this season that injury has halted Lingard’s return to Man United.

It’s a stark contrast to his form in the Premier League, where he failed to find the net in fourteen appearances for the club and has struggled to find a steady run in Steve Cooper’s line-up.

Speaking before retiring from the game, former Nottingham Forest player Roy Keane was asked about Lingard and he believes the England international is running out of excuses as to why it hasn’t worked out for him so far at the club.

“Jesse was one of the first to arrive, there was a lot of criticism about why he signed and the length of his contract, but he has to go out there and perform.” Keane told him sky sports.

“It’s not really going on in Forest and that comes down to the player.” Hardly any more excuses, Jesse has had a lot of excuses over the years.

Forest faces an uphill battle to reach the Carabao Cup final, after being swept by United in the first leg and losing 3-0 in the tie.