Wolves suffered defeat in their final pre-season outing ahead of the 2024/24 Premier League opener against Arsenal.
Gary O’Neil was unhappy with Wolves’ 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday afternoon at Molineux, as the Old Gold fell short to the Spanish side.
There is less than one week to go until the Premier League season commences, with plenty of talking points for the manager to study ahead of the trip to the Emirates.
Arsenal await Wolves on Saturday with the blockbuster opener giving O’Neil a lot to think about, as several injury concerns have struck the squad.
Gary O’Neil shares Wolves injury update ahead of Arsenal clash
Matheus Cunha’s injury in the United States caused worry amongst fans as the Brazilian sustained a blow to his hamstring, with two other injuries to report.
Following the defeat to Rayo Vallecano, O’Neil shared an update on Mario Lemina and Jorgen Strand Larsen, who both felt discomfort during Saturday’s friendly, via Express and Star.
“Jorgen had a little issue in the warm-up with his groin which was a little frustrating, he felt he was ok to play and I was desperate not to risk him but he said he was fine, so we got him an hour and hopefully he’ll be ok,” O’Neil said.
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To add to the injury worry, Wolves’ skipper was also seen to struggle at Molineux, which the manager declared was cramp.
“Mario had a bit of cramp in his hamstring, but we’ve had a really good pre-season and I’m frustrated because I didn’t want it to finish out like it did.”
After a dazzling 2023/24 campaign and an encouraging pre-season, supporters have been hoping to hear that Cunha will be fit to play against Arsenal.
There were doubts about Cunha’s fitness ahead of the fixture in North London however, the boss has since shared an encouraging update on the Brazilian.
“He’ll be back on the grass on Monday and should be back in training a day or two after that,” O’Neil explained.
“He’ll be available for Arsenal, we just have to see how much work he does between now and then to see how long he’ll be available for. If all goes to plan, I expect him to be in the squad for the weekend.”
Matheus Cunha update is a boost for Wolves
The prospect of not taking Cunha to North London was a nightmare for the Old Gold, as the 25-year-old is the glue in O’Neil’s attack.
Since playing the number 10 role, the Brazil international has thrived, with his direct nature having the potential to be fundamental to Wolves possibly getting a result at the Emirates.
Now that there is hope that Cunha could feature in some capacity, fans will be waiting to hear the feedback from their forward’s return to training in the coming week.
Despite the defeat to Rayo Vallecano, there were plenty of positives to take from pre-season, with all attention now turning to Saturday.