Greening signed a two-year contract with Fulham on 1 July 2010 after a successful loan spell the previous season. After signing, he was mainly used as a substitute and was seen as a 'fringe' player. Under new manager Mark Hughes, he rarely featured, making only 10 league appearances in 2010–11. On 18 July 2011, Greening signed a three-year contract with Championship club Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with manager Steve McClaren for the second time after working with him at both Manchester United and Middlesbrough. Greening said the move met his desire to seek regular football. He took up a coaching role with Forest's under-21 team in July 2013, after attaining UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences over the summer. Greening made 13 appearance for Forest in 2013–14 before being released by the club in May 2014. Greening made his only appearance for the England national under-18 team as a substitute for Danny Cadamarteri in a 1–0 home defeat to France on 23 April 1998. His first cap for the under-21 team came after starting the 2–2 away draw with Hungary on 27 April 1999, with his first goal coming in the 61st minute of a 6–1 home win over Georgia on 31 August 2000. Greening was drafted into the England squad for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship as a replacement for the injured Michael Carrick, two days prior to their first match of the tournament. He played in the final Group A match, a 3–1 loss to Portugal on 22 May 2002, with England being eliminated from the tournament after finishing bottom of Group A. This proved to be the final of his 17 appearances for the under-21s, for whom he scored three goals. Greening was also called up to the full England squad by Sven Goran Eriksson but failed to make an appearance. Although naturally right-sided, Greening can operate anywhere across the midfield. Initially an attacking wide midfielder, he later moved to a central midfield holding role. Teammate Dean Kiely once described how Greening "sprays passes around like a quarterback" in Albion's style of attacking football under Tony Mowbray. Greening began assisting with coaching the Academy team of his former club York, then in League Two, during the summer of 2014, before retiring from playing professionally during September 2014. He signed for Northern Counties East League Premier Division club Tadcaster Albion on 19 September 2014, where his younger brother Josh played, making his debut the next day in a 6–0 away win over Maltby Main.