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Why Craig Dawson did not play for Wolves in pre-season friendly against Como

Wolves played their first pre-season friendly match earlier this week against Italian club Como 1907 – but there was no involvement for Craig Dawson.

Wolves won the game 1-0, but most of the talk over the last two days has been regarding the awful incident involving Hwang Hee-chan, who heard and then reported a racist remark from a Como player.

Daniel Podence reportedly threw a punch a the player involved and was subsequently sent off.

Gary O’Neil said after the game that he offered Hwang the choice of having the game abandoned or carrying on. The South Korean attacker decided the latter.

Wolves ended up winning with Matt Doherty scoring the game’s only goal, heading in from a Rayan Ait-Nouri free-kick.

O’Neil used two XIs, but one man who did not play a single minute was Craig Dawson, and it has now been explained why.

Wolves didn’t want to risk Craig Dawson against Como after previous 11-a-side match

Wolverhampton Wanderers Pre-season Training Session
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

Last season, Dawson picked up a groin injury which forced him to miss the final 12 matches of the campaign.

His absence really stung for Wolves, who ended up finishing 14th in the Premier League table and going out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage at the hands of Coventry City.

Wolves became leaky while the veteran was sidelined, with former captain Max Kilman’s form suffering especially.

Dawson – who Saido Berahino said this week was the most underrated player he’s ever played with – had surgery for his injury, and the player said recently that he has been working hard over the summer to prepare himself for pre-season.

But he did not have any involvement against Como, and that is down to the fact that Wolves don’t want to overload the 34-year-old.

Speaking on the latest E&S podcast: “You’ve got to bear in mind with centre-backs, they’ve got Mosquera and Nigel Lonwijk who played the first-half, and then Santi Bueno and Toti who played the second.

“They were the only ones that were available to play, with Dawson being given a bit of a rest.

“He played an 11-a-side game in training the day before and they decided not to risk him. Nothing too serious with him, just bringing him back in as normal. Nothing to worry about that he wasn’t involved in that game, it was just a decision to not risk him.”

Nathan Judah added that Dawson was ‘a full participant every day’ out in Marbella.

Sensible from Wolves

Some had wondered why Dawson had not played against Como and this explanation does provide some reassurance.

Seemingly Wolves are being cautious with Dawson following surgery earlier this year. It is really important that they manage him correctly and do not overload him.

We saw last season what the impact was when the £3 million star got injured.

Dawson may be approaching his mid-thirties, but he remains a top Premier League defender and he stands to play an important role once again in 2024/25.

Especially if O’Neil decides that Yerson Mosquerawho has impressed in Marbella – is going to be his partner from the off.