Jonny’s return to the first-team picture for Wolverhampton Wanderers is ‘going to be huge’, according to former goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.
The Spaniard was named in the starting lineup against Leicester City on Sunday, six months after his last appearance for the Wanderers when he suffered ACL damage against Olympiacos.
The star featured for the first-half only as per the plan, and did really well at Molineux.
Jonny proved more than a match for Ayoze Perez who was kept very quiet when on his side of the pitch.
It was a welcome sight for supporters, who have watched youngster Rayan Ait-Nouri struggle a little defensively so far in the Black Country, and Fernando Marcal spend a lot of his time in the treatment room.
In the eyes of Ikeme, the importance of Jonny’s comeback for Wolves cannot be overstated.
He told the club’s official website: “It’s a massive thing for Jonny to come back. We’ve realised how much we’ve missed him this season. He brings such balance getting forward and going back to this team.
“With losing Doc as well over the summer, it was two really important members of our famous back five.
“We’ve had arguments all season about formations, but we’ve maybe neglected just how big Jonny and Doc were in the way we played. Jonny coming back is going to be huge.”
Jonny return could be catalyst for change
Having Jonny back is fantastic for Wolves, as you know you’re going to be getting reliability and consistency.
He’s a solid defender and can get forwards, and he has been a major miss over the past months.
Having him back in that left wing-back role just shores that side of the pitch up, and hopefully his presence will see Wolves keep more clean sheets in the second half of the season.