Wolves are taking on Fulham this weekend in another huge Premier League game, and Gary O’Neil may not be able to call on Santiago Bueno.
Bueno withdrew from the Uruguay squad at the request of Wolves, as he is currently nursing a groin injury.
Bueno actually had the injury before flying to South America, and he played no part in Uruguay’s match with Colombia.
Marcelo Bielsa had hoped to perhaps call on him for their World Cup qualifier against Brazil tonight, but he’s not fully fit and won’t feature.
Currently, it’s unclear if Bueno will be OK to face Fulham this weekend but seemingly, he is a doubt right now. So Molineux News looks at three ways O’Neil could cover his potential absence.
Nelson Semedo or Matt Doherty as a replacement
Bueno has been operating as the right-sided centre-back, so O’Neil may consider putting one of Nelson Semedo or Matt Doherty in that position.
£50,000-a-week star Doherty has had some experience of playing there, so the Republic of Ireland international might get the nod, with Semedo to stay as the right wing-back.
Semedo has also played as a right-sided centre-back before, but the Portuguese star would probably be more useful as a wing-back with his pace and crossing ability.
Before his one-minute cameo against Southampton, Doherty hadn’t played for Wolves in the Premier League since the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United back in September.
Alfie Pond to get Premier League debut?
It’s probably not something that Gary O’Neil would particularly really want to do, but maybe Alfie Pond could be an option against Fulham.
O’Neil gave Pond his debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup earlier this season and even though it was a bad night for Wolves, he didn’t really look too out of place.
With fellow youngster Bastien Meupiyou not yet ready for Premier League minutes, Pond is the only other natural centre-back option O’Neil could turn to if Bueno’s out.
It would be a huge call from the Wolves manager, especially given the current pressure on him. But Pond trains with the first-team and clearly has something about him to have even played that game against Brighton.
Switch to a back four and use Toti and Dawson
One other thing O’Neil could do is go to a back four.
Wolves came into the new season using a back four and only recently switched to a three with wing-backs in a bid to shore things up.
The jury is still out somewhat on Toti’s capability of playing in a back four, but O’Neil may feel he has no other option if Bueno can’t feature.
If the decision is to go with a Toti-Dawson pairing and traditional full-backs, then O’Neil will surely need one midfielder to be very disciplined and just sit in front of the centre-backs – and perhaps even join them when Fulham have the ball to make a three.
Perhaps one of Andre, Mario Lemina or Tommy Doyle should be considered for this particular role.
Andre can operate as a centre-back as a last resort, but that could well be a big risk given the Brazilian’s lack of involvement even in his own position recently.