AFCON is just around the corner, and the Wolves players heading away on international duty are set to be out of action for the club during that period.
The scheduling of the African Cup of Nations means it takes place midway through the domestic calendar, and clubs have no choice but to let their players participate.
Wolves will have five players potentially away for AFCON, and there are quite a few key players heading out for the competition.
There have been some AFCON winners to wear the Old Gold, and the five this year will want to make that list.
Here is how many games they could miss.
Wolves’ AFCON players could miss up to eight matches
AFCON 2025 is set to take place from December 21st through until January 18th, and every player is guaranteed to miss at least three games for Wolves due to the group stage of the tournament.
The players away include Tolu Arokodare, Jackson Tchatchoua, Marshall Munetsi, Tawanda Chirewa, and Emmanuel Agbadou.
The Premier League fixtures that take place during that period include:
- Brentford (H) – December 20th, 2025
- Liverpool (A) – December 27th, 2025
- Manchester United (A) – December 30th, 2025
Additionally, a further three Premier League games could be missed based on how far the player progresses in AFCON.
- West Ham (H) – January 3rd, 2026
- If the player makes the last 16
- Everton (A) – January 7th, 2026
- If the player makes the quarter-finals
- Newcastle (H) – January 17th, 2026
- If the player makes the final
There is also the possibility of these players being unavailable for a potential Carabao Cup semi-final first leg which takes place in the week commencing 12 January 2026, if the player gets to the AFCON semi-finals.
Wolves could be in with a chance of progressing past Chelsea, with Cole Palmer ruled out, handing the Old Gold a boost
Finally, should any Wolves player make it to the quarter-finals, they will miss the FA Cup fixture that takes place the weekend of Saturday, 10 January 2026.
It is worth noting that fixture dates are subject to change.
Wolves’ opposition will also be weakened during winter
Wolves’ fixtures throughout AFCON are pretty kind when you consider that the more difficult teams they face also have a core of African players.
When the Old Gold face Liverpool, the Reds will be without Mohamed Salah, and when they face Manchester United, Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazrouai, and Amad Diallo will also be missing.
There is likely not a better time to face those two clubs.
Meanwhile, Brentford could be without Frank Onyenka and Dango Outtara.
The fixtures in January also feature teams that will have plenty of players missing. Everton could be without Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye should they progress far with their nations.
West Ham will have Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf away if their respective countries perform well too.
Newcastle could also be without Yoane Wissa.
Interestingly, Wolves are the second-most affected side for AFCON, with only Sunderland (9) having more players away.