Former Wolves defender Ryan Bennett reckons Pedro Neto can come back from his injury and still become a superstar.
Neto has been sidelined since the start of October, when he picked up an ankle injury against West Ham United.
The winger sustained damage to ligaments, and underwent surgery.
He’ll return to action in the new year, but it is currently unclear when exactly. He hasn’t been out on the grass yet.
Neto picking up his injury when he did was a massive frustration for the 22-year-old.
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He wasn’t in good form at all, and the fact he now can’t play must be a tough one for him to take.
Neto’s performances before his injury were a real surprise. He was one of the sharpest players in pre-season, and many supporters couldn’t wait to see him this term.
But nothing really came off for him. He was wasteful in the final third, and started to look as though he was lacking confidence.
It’s been a hard start to 2022/23 for the Portuguese. But Molineux man Bennett has backed Neto to return stronger and become a superstar.
He said in an interview with the Birmingham Mail: “I never got to see Pedro in the form that he got in but I remember there was one thing with him. When he first came in he did an interview and he said ‘I want to be the best player in the world’.
“At the time I was like, ‘fair play, this is a young kid’. But a month later he was training and we used to sit and have dinner and there were people looking at each other like, ‘He might not be wrong this fella!’ He was working incredibly hard. Physically he changed and he was flying. I looked at him and thought he was a serious player.
“I know he’s had a serious injury and come back and got another one. He could still be a superstar.”
Neto was at his best for Wolves during the 2020/21 season.
He was pretty much Wolves’ best player every game. Neto really stepped up to the plate after Raul Jimenez suffered his head injury.
He then suffered that broken patella injury in April 2021. That has unfortunately made the last 20 months or so a bit of a struggle for him.
Pedro Neto can become a top player again for Wolves under Julen Lopetegui, as Ryan Bennett makes superstar prediction
Neto has had a rough time of things lately.
He did brilliantly to come back from that knee injury, and finished last season well with a goal against Liverpool at Anfield.
He then looked very lively in pre-season, and fans anticipated he would come back with a bang.
It didn’t happen for him, and now he’s back on the sidelines again.
Hopefully once he’s back fit again, Lopetegui will take him under his wing and get him back to where he should be.
That superstar potential was extremely exciting, and hopefully he can eventually realise it.