Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: 4 months in 70 minutes - Aina exposed as McGinn-led Villians cruise

For Super Eagles defender Ola Aina, the afternoon at Villa Park was supposed to mark a victorious return to competitive action.

After 127 days away from competitive football, the Nigerian international was thrust straight back into Sean Dyche's starting XI, tasked with providing stability to a backline that has conceded freely during his absence.

Instead, it became a sobering reminder of the chasm between training ground fitness and Premier League intensity.

Villa, seeking redemption after their Arsenal defeat, dominated from the outset. From Aina's position at right-back, the threat was immediate and sustained.

Ian Maatsen's attacking vigor down Villa's left flank tested the Nigerian's positioning and match sharpness repeatedly in the opening exchanges, every run requiring conscious thought rather than instinctive reaction.

The breakthrough arrived in the dying seconds of the first half when Ollie Watkins struck with clinical precision, marking his third goal in consecutive matches.

For Aina, watching from a stretched defensive line, it was devastating, the kind of goal that exposes fragility at the worst possible moment. If the first-half concession was painful, what followed four minutes after the interval was catastrophic.

Forest failed to clear a routine delivery, and John McGinn ghosted into the area with intelligent movement that exploited tired legs and uncertain minds.

Aina, attempting to track runners while managing his own physical limitations, could only watch as the ball nestled into the net.

Morgan Gibbs-White briefly offered hope with a sharp counter-attack goal just after the hour mark, halving the deficit. For Aina, it presented a glimpse of potential redemption, a chance to be part of an unlikely comeback on his return.

That hope evaporated in the 73rd minute when goalkeeper John Victor's catastrophic error gifted McGinn his second goal. Three minutes later, Dyche withdrew Aina, his comeback lasting just 70 minutes. The substitution acknowledged both his physical condition and Forest's need for something different.

As Aina walked to the touchline, he could feel the weight of four months away. His legs were heavy, reactions fractionally slower, concentration requiring active maintenance. The 153 minutes in Under-21 matches had proven woefully inadequate preparation for Villa's intensity.

Villa's 3-1 victory cemented their top-three position, while Forest's fourth consecutive defeat left them in 17th place, just two points above relegation. For Aina, it was a return that revealed precisely how far he still has to travel back to full sharpness and time is a luxury neither he nor Nottingham Forest can afford.

• Returning from injury into a crisis amplifies every challenge

Aina's comeback exposed the harsh reality of rejoining a team in freefall. Without time to ease back through victories or solid draws, every misplaced pass and mistimed challenge carried added weight.

His commitment never wavered, but the tension was visible, a player consciously avoiding becoming the story for the wrong reasons while his body struggled to remember what his mind commanded.

• Training ground miles cannot replicate match intensity

The disconnect between Aina's intentions and execution was evident throughout. Runs he would normally track with ease required extra effort.

Positional adjustments that should have been instinctive demanded conscious thought. McGinn's second goal, arriving in space Aina might have occupied with sharper positioning, exemplified how marginal deficiencies become critical vulnerabilities against organized opposition like Villa.

• Seventy minutes revealed four months' true cost

When Dyche withdrew him, Aina understood why. The enthusiastic player desperate to prove his fitness had been replaced by someone simply surviving until the final whistle.

No amount of preparation can replicate sustained Premier League combat the speed of thought, the physical endurance, the split-second decisions under pressure can only be rediscovered through actual matches. His journey back to full sharpness has only just begun.