Wolves take on Arsenal this weekend in the Premier League, and the club have today released a fresh batch of training photos.
Rob Edwards takes his players down to London to take on the Premier League leaders, for what could be the hardest game of the season so far.
Wolves are fresh from losing 4-1 against Manchester United at Molineux, which saw fans protest against owners Fosun. Supporters gathered outside the Billy Wright Stand, and then they entered 15 minutes after kick-off.
Finish this sentence: When Wolves play Arsenal, the one thing Rob Edwards must do is ________.
We'll start: Show bravery and try to get at a potentially makeshift Arsenal defence!
To say that fans are not optimistic ahead of this game is an understatement.
Arsenal are having a fine campaign and could well make it a long night for Wolves.
But we’ll see if Edwards can somehow pull something out of the bag.
Today, the club shared some new training photos ahead of the game, and there are a few absentees.
No Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in new Wolves training photos
Against United, Wolves fans watched on in dismay as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde left the action with an injury just before the hour mark.
He had been Wolves’ best player, but he pulled up with what looked to be some kind of muscle injury after he was running with the ball.
Edwards couldn’t provide an update immediately after the game, but the Wolves manager admitted it didn’t look good.
And in Wolves’ new training photos, there is no sign of Bellegarde anywhere, which casts doubt on his potential to play against Arsenal.
And he’s not the only first-teamer from the photos. There’s also no sign of Jorgen Strand Larsen, David Moller Wolfe, Yerson Mosquera or Toti Gomes.
Edwards recent confirmed Marshall Munetsi is out for around six weeks with his injury, so his absence from training is no surprise.
Rodrigo Gomes is also not yet ready to return to the main group.
Bellegarde would be a major miss for Wolves
It was perhaps expected that Bellegarde would not be seen in training from the way he went off against United.
Edwards will more than likely give an update on him at his press conference on Friday, and hopefully he will not be out for too long.
Here’s what Wolves said about Bellegarde when he first came to Wolves
How integral is JRB now for Wanderers?
Because at the moment, he is the only midfielder who seems capable of providing something in the final third.
Bellegarde is a player who’ll try and take a risk, rather than play a five-yard pass. He also has the capability to carry the ball from deeper positions and break the lines.
We can but hope that him not appearing in the training photos is just him resting a minor injury. But in all honesty, that feels like a stretch.
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