Nottingham Forest captain Joe Worrall is being tracked by Championship duo Leicester and Middlesbrough ahead of the January transfer window.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Thursday that Worrall - along with team-mate Scott McKenna - had been excluded from first-team training sessions at the club’s Nigel Doughty Academy HQ.
They have been asked to train away from their senior colleagues, on separate pitches and at different times, during the week.
Sources insist the move is not a result of any behavioural issues or rows.
As things stand, Worrall and McKenna are expected to be made available when the transfer window reopens next month - although that stance could alter depending on the future of under pressure head coach Steve Cooper, who is close to the sack at the City Ground.