An international manager has handed Wolves an injury blow ahead of Sunday’s clash after giving his reason for not calling a player up.
International call-ups have been taking place over the last day with Andre and Joao Gomes called up to the Brazilian national team.
Brazil fans were not best pleased that the Wolves duo were selected, but it is a good confidence booster for the midfielders.
While that is good news for both players and for Wolves, another player has been confirmed injured in a big blow for Vitor Pereira.
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson confirms Matt Doherty out injured for four to five weeks
Matt Doherty has long been a staple of the Irish national team, and he has captained them on quite a few occasions.
He is one of the most senior members of the squad, and with some crucial World Cup qualifiers on the horizon, his omission was surprising.
Speaking to the Irish press about his squad announcement, Heimir Hallgrimsson confirmed the reason for Doherty’s absence, and it is bad news for Wolves.
Hallgrimsson said, “Jason Knight has a groin injury and is most likely out for four to five weeks. Matt Doherty has a fracture in his wrist and had an operation on it two days ago and is going to miss probably the same amount of time.”
The surgery timeline means the Wolves defender will miss crucial fixtures against Sunderland and Burnley over the coming weeks.
Based on Hallgrimsson’s words, Doherty could return to action against Fulham on November 1st or Chelsea on November 8th.
It is a blow for the Wanderers as they look to continue on from their impressive performance against Tottenham Hotspur.
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Doherty started that game and was subbed off at half-time for Jackson Tchatchoua.
Notably, the Irishman has been wearing tape on his wrist over the last few weeks, suggesting he had been waiting to solve the issue and the timing for the surgery could perhaps have been planned in advance.
Matt Doherty’s surgery was likely planned for this week
Matt Doherty having surgery on his wrist just before an international break was possibly pencilled in.
While he will miss this international break, having the surgery done now means he will be available for the following Republic of Ireland games in November.
The four-to-five-week scale means he will be back in contention for both club and country between October 30th and November 6th.
Jackson Tchatchoua was Wolves’ best right-back option against Brighton, but now it seems the Cameroonian’s chances of starting are much higher.