Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has shared his concerns ahead of the Old Gold’s clash with Aston Villa as the squad’s injury list piles up.
Wolves have been warned of the challenges they face ahead by manager Gary O’Neil, who has recently shared his concerns regarding the squad’s injury list.
The manager was aware of the hurdles he would have to overcome throughout the 2023/24 campaign after inheriting Julen Lopetegui’s depleted squad five days prior to the start of the season.
The Spaniard opted to leave his post due to his beliefs that the quality of the team was not strong enough to compete in the Premier League, as Wolves’ squad shrunk in the summer with key players departing and not being replaced.
While O’Neil has managed to weather the storm of the small squad available to him at Molineux, the club faces an uphill battle from now until the end of the campaign having lost players to injury.
Gary O’Neil braces Wolves for ‘difficult’ road ahead
Wolves had their injury woes exposed against Coventry City in their previous fixture, as the Sky Blues stole the host’s ticket to Wembley in the dying embers at Molineux.
It was a thrilling FA Cup quarter-final for the neutral yet an agonising one for the Old Gold, who experienced both the highest and lowest emotions in injury time.
A lot of the result against the Championship outfit will come down to the lack of quality available in the squad for Wolves to exert on Mark Robbins’ side, seeing the game won by the visitors in the 100th minute.
Speaking after the game with a view towards the next test against Aston Villa, O’Neil admitted that his side will face a “difficult” challenge due to their injury list, as per Express and Star.
“Lifting the players will be fine. They always respond and they will respond.”
“But Premier League games, with where we are at this moment, will be really, really difficult.”
“We’re going to go to Aston Villa and hopefully Cunha’s back, but if we are as we are (against Coventry), we’ll go there with only Pablo Sarabia as a senior attacking player.”
O’Neil’s hard work must not be undone by squad frailties
With Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha all currently out of contention due to hamstring injuries, O’Neil was forced to start 19-year-old Nathan Fraser up front against Coventry.
While the manager has managed to maintain his squad’s level of performance throughout the season, the current injury list tells the tale of a serious issue when it comes to lack of squad depth.
Still, the show must go on and with Wolves still sat in touching distance to gaining a spot in Europe next campaign, O’Neil will hope his available players can dig deep with 10 games to go.
Next up for the Old Gold comes a Midlands derby against Aston Villa, who themselves have struggled with injury this term, presenting a challenge that will truly test the quality at Molineux.