L’Équipe are reporting that Billa Brahimi (22), who had looked set to join Ligue 1 rivals ESTAC Troyes will remain at OGC Nice following an injury to Arsenal loanee Nicolas Pépé (27).
Brahimi has seen his gametime limited this season following the loan signing of Nicolas Pépé, as well as the arrival of Sofiane Diop on the opposite wing. In Nice’s narrow victory against Lille OSC, it was former Dogue Badredine Bouanani (18) who played on the right of the attack.
However, Pépé was a key absentee from that victory. Despite being initially named in the squad to take part in the match, the club announced prior to kick-off that the Arsenal loanee would miss the tie due to “knee pain.” Further medical examinations were then scheduled to take place in order to ascertain the severity of the injury.
L’Équipe now report that Pépé’s injury could be worse than first feared. Get French Football News witnessed the Ivory Coast international limping heavily after the fixture, although he was in good spirits interacting with former Lille teammates, as well as Nice staff.
Brahimi, who had looked set to leave, will now instead remain at the Allianz Riviera until the end of the season instead of joining Troyes on a six-month loan. L’Équipe had earlier reported that his signature was just hours away.