Wolves were handed another injury scare last night as one of Gary O’Neil’s squad players was forced to withdraw and appeared to be clutching his hamstring.
It’s been a trialling time for Wolves, who were left at boiling point against West Ham United last week due to another controversial VAR decision.
Gary O’Neil watched on as his side was cruelly denied a late equaliser at Molineux due to a “crazy” VAR decision, as put by the manager who was seething to see the game end in defeat.
It was a fair reaction from the Wolves boss, who has found his side left short on numerous occasions this term by VAR, on top of fighting the adversity that comes with having a particularly small squad.
Injuries have significantly tainted what could have been an end to the season that saw the Old Gold claim a European spot, with limited numbers seeing O’Neil left bare due to a lack of depth.
With star forwards Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-chan both nursing hamstring injuries, and Matheus Cunha just returning from one himself, the last thing Wolves need is another injury of that nature in the squad.
Wolves struck with another injury scare in U21s game last night
Unfortunately, it looked as though another hamstring niggle could have struck a member of O’Neil’s squad last night, as Noha Lemina was withdrawn early from the U21 game against Sunderland.
Reporting from the game, journalist Liam Keen shared the news that Lemina had been forced to be substituted due to injury.
“Noha Lemina forced off through injury after 78 minutes. He looked to be holding his hamstring, but was moving OK as he walked off.”
While the 18-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance for Wolves this season, he has been named on the bench for O’Neil’s side in the previous five Premier League fixtures due to squad shortages.
Potentially being faced with another injury to his squad is not what the manager will want to hear right now, however, there has been some light shed on the situation.
After the game, Keen reported that Lemina was “walking fine” and hoped that it was more of a precautionary measure that saw him come off in the 78th minute.
Wolves have done a remarkable job this season despite injuries
It’s been a remarkable season for O’Neil at Wolves, regardless of how the campaign ends considering the job that the manager took on back in the summer.
From having Neto absent, then Hwang missing, then Cunha, then all at the same time, the boss has had his squad’s adaptability truly tested this term without having a squad capable of allowing heavy rotation.
Still, the Old Gold remain in a strong position with seven games left to play, defying the odds as many would have had the Midlands club down as relegation candidates early in the season.