Rob Edwards has been without Matt Doherty since taking over the Wolves job from Vitor Pereira.
Injury issues have meant the 33-year-old has not been able to make an impact in training or matches for the Old Gold.
The Irishman is positive that Edwards can keep Wolves up, and missing a player that has such belief is a major blow for the Wanderers.
Images surfacing from Wolves training showed Doherty back in action, and it was a boost ahead of playing Aston Villa.
Anything can happen in a derby…
Since Wolves and Aston Villa have been back in the Premier League (2019), Wolves have won six of their 12 games against the Villans (50%).
The West Midlands derby is a big fixture on the calendar, and having Doherty return was sure to help the Molineux side in their quest for an upset.
However, that positivity has now been quashed after Rob Edwards’ press conference for Sunday’s fixture.
Matt Doherty will likely not feature against Aston Villa
Despite Matt Doherty returning to training, Rob Edwards has confirmed that Sunday’s game likely comes too soon for the Irishman, while also providing an update on third-choice keeper Dan Bentley.
The Wolves defender has been dealing with a knee injury since the start of October and has missed the last four matches for the Old Gold.
Meanwhile, Dan Bentley has only recently sustained an injury, but his position in the squad means it is not as much of a blow.
Speaking at his pre-Villa press conference, Edwards said, “Matt Doherty has returned to training; today’s session is the first he’s really joined. It’s probably too soon for him this weekend, but we’ll see. He still has another day tomorrow.”
There is a short turnaround in games over the next week, with Wolves hosting Nottingham Forest on Wednesday following their trip to Villa Park.
That will likely be a more plausible return date for the right-back, and with fixtures coming in fast, it is not worth risking the health of the full-back.
In more positive news, Rob Edwards has said that Jorgen Strand Larsen is fully fit and ‘feels good’, with the Norwegian having constantly dealt with an Achilles’ heel issue.
The forward has yet to hit the ground running because of the injury, and that has not helped Wolves’ goalscoring issues.
Wolves’ issues are clear to see in the final third ahead of playing Aston Villa…
No player has scored more than once for Wolves across their 12 games so far in the Premier League this season. Only four sides have had a longer wait from the start of a campaign for a player to score twice – Bradford City (15 games in 2000-01), Huddersfield Town (13 in 2018-19), Tottenham (13 in 2006-07) and Wimbledon (13 in 1994-95).
Matt Doherty’s leadership will be a miss
In the big games, especially one such as this West Midlands derby, having as much leadership around is very important, and that will be a blow for Wolves to not have Matt Doherty.
In his absence, the other leaders, such as Toti Gomes and Joao Gomes, must step up on the pitch.
A game of this magnitude means so much for the travelling Wanderers, and a win on Sunday would give them a whole load of positivity.
A win against rivals like Aston Villa could provide a catalyst for a boost in form, and then maybe, Rob Edwards could actually pull off what seems like an impossible bid for survival.
However, Chris Sutton thinks Wolves lack one important trait to pull off a great escape.
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