Julen Lopetegui has said today that Mario Lemina’s hamstring injury is not as serious as first feared.
The 29-year-old had to go off at half-time in the 2-1 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday.
Lemina was having a great game for Wolves, and played a key role in the goal Matheus Cunha scored. He won the ball off Youri Tielemans before the Brazilian fired into the bottom corner.
But Lemina could not continue after the break, with Ruben Neves coming on as his replacement.
After the game, Lopetegui confirmed that he had to be withdrawn due to a hamstring injury.
Wolves fans have been waiting for news on Lemina.
And today it has arrived – and it’s a positive update from the manager on the Gabon international.
He has said that Lemina’s injury isn’t severe. He told reporters (via Wolves official): “It’s not the severity of the injury that we thought at first after assessing him. Tomorrow morning, we are going to see more, so we will see tomorrow if he’s going to be ready or not. If not, we are going to have one other player who is ready.
Earlier today, Matheus Nunes uploaded a photo to his Instagram Story of a few Wolves players posing on the training ground.
Lemina was fully kitted out, suggesting he has done some training which is a good sign.
Should Lemina not make tomorrow’s matchday squad though, there is potential for Boubacar Traore to come in as his replacement.
The Malian hasn’t yet featured under Lopetegui due to injury problems.
Fantastic news about Mario Lemina from Julen Lopetetgui ahead of Crystal Palace clash
This update today from Lopetegui will prompt sighs of relief from Wolves fans everywhere.
Hamstring injuries very often mean players being on the sidelines for weeks at a time.
It looks as though there is a chance Lemina could actually play tomorrow night for Wolves, which would be brilliant considering the quick turnaround from weekend
Lemina’s physicality would certainly be nice to have against Palace.
The main thing though is that Lemina’s season doesn’t appear to be in any doubt.
He really has been crucial for Wanderers since he signed. It is now hard to imagine this team with him.