It’s not even October but Wolves are in dire straits heading into their clash against Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Wolves are currently sitting bottom of the Premier League on a single point after losing four of their first five matches.
The Wanderers have also been hit with an injury crisis, with Gary O’Neil confirming that illness has swept the squad, leaving them on the barebones.
It was already announced that Yerson Mosquera would miss the rest of the 2024/25 campaign after injuring his ACL and MCL in the defeat to Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, O’Neil isn’t confident that Toti Gomes will return for this weekend’s match after suffering from a minor hamstring issue.
With only two senior centre-backs available, Craig Dawson and Santiago Bueno, the Wolves boss may have to call on a youngster against Liverpool.
Alfie Pond could make Premier League debut vs Liverpool
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Molineux, he was asked about the injury to Mosquera and in his response, he spoke about Alfie Pond’s chances of featuring against the Reds.
O’Neil said, as relayed by journalist Liam Keen: “He’s OK. He’s a great kid and I’m devastated for him. It’s a big loss to us. It’s a big blow to the team but it brings an opportunity to others. Alfie Pond is now a step closer, for example. He has a chance.”
The Wolves boss later said that he never expected Pond to be in and around league starts this season however, following the injury crisis that has hit the squad, the 20-year-old could make his Premier League debut against the title challengers.
Pond joined the Wanderers academy in the summer of 2022 after signing from Exeter and spent last season on loan at Stockport County in League Two, where he played just six times.
Now, after playing 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton, the young defender could be in for a surprise starting chance this weekend.
A baptism of fire for Alfie Pond
First and foremost, Wolves shouldn’t have been in this position in the first place where they’re relying on academy players to bail them out.
It mirrors the problem they had last season when Tawanda Chirewa, Nathan Fraser and Leon Chiwome all made more appearances in the Premier League than they perhaps should have.
Wolves clearly didn’t learn their lesson in the summer, with Matt Hobbs feeling it wasn’t necessary to replace Max Kilman, despite pocketing £40 million for their captain.
For Pond, a player who wouldn’t have expected to feature at all this season, he could now start against one of the best sides in the country alongside Dawson and Bueno.
It reflects badly on the club that they didn’t sign a replacement for Kilman in the window and they’re now paying the price, but Pond won’t mind as he could now have an opportunity to test himself against world-class players such as Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.
Wolves were already in for a difficult evening against Arne Slot’s men but now, the challenge of securing a shock result is looking even harder.