Wolves suffered heartbreak as Bournemouth clinched a penalty shootout win to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
It was an FA Cup contest that had absolutely everything, from stunning strikes, VAR drama, a red card and a frantic penalty shootout.
But unfortunately, Vitor Pereira’s men tasted defeat in the worst possible way as Bournemouth prevailed on penalties, leaving the visitors feeling deflated.
Wolves had Matheus Cunha to thank for sending them into extra time, as his wonderful strike drew them level, but the Brazilian went from hero to zero after lashing out at Milos Kerkez.
A red card was brandished to Cunha, who lost his head after extra time and refused to walk down the tunnel as his side were about to take their penalties.
Cunha will now miss the next three games, including clashes against Everton, Southampton and West Ham, and that wasn’t the only blow Wolves suffered on Saturday.
Vitor Pereira confirms Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Matt Doherty injuries
It’s been a testing period regarding injuries for Pereira, who had Emmanuel Agbadou, Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Carlos Forbs unavailable for selection.
Although Jorgen Strand Larsen returned to the starting lineup after injury, the Portuguese tactician supplemented that positive news with a frustrating update after full-time.
- READ MORE: Wolves player ratings vs Bournemouth, Matheus Cunha goes from hero to zero but 4/10 man struggles
VP: Bellegarde injured after 90 mins, Doc hamstring injury too, Strand Larsen was only supposed to play 70 mins#wwfc pic.twitter.com/BbbX52qdik
— Nathan Judah (@NathanJudah) March 1, 2025
As relayed by journalist Nathan Judah, Pereira confirmed that midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and defender Matt Doherty both suffered injuries against Bournemouth.
Bellegarde was replaced in the 91st minute by youngster Alfie Pond, whereas Doherty came off the bench towards the end of normal time for Nelson Semedo.
Wolves fans will be hoping the injury issues aren’t severe once the issues are examined, as they can ill afford to lose two key players on top of Cunha.
Pereira has already sent a clear warning to Fosun
Wolves addressed some of their squad concerns in the January transfer window with the arrivals of Agbadou, Nasser Djiga and Marshall Munetsi.
But some injuries to their first-teamers have exposed how much more investment is needed in the summer, especially with Cunha likely to depart.
- READ MORE: One winner and three losers after Wolves suffer FA Cup penalty heartbreak against Bournemouth
Pereira bemoaned Wolves’ lack of squad depth following the defeat to Fulham on Tuesday, and two more players being out injured would only add to the problem.
“This is a problem against a team that when they started to do the subs, they came with a lot of players with high quality, because they have these solutions in the squad,” he said. “At this moment with the injuries for us, it’s difficult.”
The above is perhaps a subtle warning to Fosun that, while it’s great that Wolves were the second-highest spenders in January, they must now back their manager in the summer or the same problems will resurface.