Gary O’Neil confirms Wolves injury crisis as youngster set for Premier League debut vs Liverpool.
Wolves are in terrible shape going into their match against Liverpool on Saturday night, and it’s not even October yet.
Having lost four of their opening five games, Wolves are now down in the Premier League on only one point.
Injuries have also befallen the Wanderers, as Gary O’Neil has confirmed that sickness has decimated the team, leaving them with only the skeletons.
After suffering ACL and MCL injuries in the loss to Aston Villa, it was already stated that Yorson Mosquera would miss the remainder of the 2024–2025 season.
Toti Gomes has been dealing with a little hamstring ailment, so O’Neil isn’t sure whether he will be back for this weekend’s game.
The Wolves only have two senior centre backs available in Craig Dawson and Santiago Bueno.
Alfie Pond could make Premier League debut vs Liverpool
When asked about Mosquera’s injury during his pre-match press conference prior to Liverpool’s trip to Molineux, he discussed Alfie Pond’s likelihood of playing against the Reds.
Journalist Liam Keen quoted O’Neil as saying, “He’s OK.” He’s a wonderful child, and my heart breaks for him. For us, it’s a huge loss. Although it deals a serious blow to the squad, it presents a chance for others. For example, Alfie Pond is now one step closer. He has an opportunity.
Pond, who signed with Exeter, joined the Wanderers academy in the summer of 2022. He played just six games while on loan at Stockport County in League Two during the previous season.
Now that he has played 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup loss to Brighton, the young defender might have an unexpected opportunity to start this coming Saturday.
A baptism of fire for Alfie Pond
Above all, Wolves shouldn’t have found themselves in this predicament where they have to rely on academy players to save them.
It’s similar to the issue they faced the previous season when Tawanda Chirewa, Nathan Fraser, and Leon Chiwome all played in the Premier League more than they probably ought to have.
Matt Hobbs believes Wolves didn’t need to replace Max Kilman even if the team paid £40 million for their captain, indicating that the team definitely didn’t learn their lesson from the summer.
Along with Dawson and Bueno, Pond, a player who wasn’t anticipated to play at all this season, might potentially start against one of the top teams in the nation.
Although the club is now paying the price for failing to sign a replacement for Kilman during the transfer window, Pond won’t care because he may now get the chance to put himself to the test against elite players like Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.
Arne Slot’s team was always going to present a tough fight for Wolves, but now it appears even more impossible to pull off a surprising victory.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply