Wolves fans are already looking ahead to Sunday’s FA Cup clash with West Bromwich Albion – and Gary O’Neil looks to have received a major boost ahead of the game.
Wanderers take on their bitter rivals at the Hawthorns in the fourth round of the competition, after getting past Brentford.
Wolves needed a replay and extra-time in the second match to dump out the Bees to set up the tie, with West Brom beating Aldershot Town.
It is an occasion that doesn’t come around too often these days and so, both sets of fans are absolutely pumped for Sunday.
Wolves go into the game in fine form on a six-game unbeaten run at the moment – and Gary O’Neil could now welcome back a key player for the game…
Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri could return for West Brom clash as Algeria exit AFCON
Last night, Algeria took on Mauritania in their final group-stage match at AFCON.
After drawing their first two games, the nation needed at least another draw to go through as one of the best third-placed sides, but fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to exit the competition at the group-stage for the second time in a row.
Two-time champions Algeria finished rock bottom of their group, meaning they could not even qualify for the last 16 as one of the top four third-placed sides.
It means that their players can now head back to their respective clubs, and Wolves will welcome back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who played all three games against Angola, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
O’Neil will surely be asked about the potential for Ait-Nouri to play in Sunday’s game with West Brom at his press conference on Friday.
Having Ait-Nouri available to face West Brom would be huge
Ait-Nouri will no doubt be bitterly disappointed about Algeria’s early exit at AFCON, and commiserations to him.
But this surely means he is now in contention to play for Wolves against West Brom, with the game being on Sunday.
Ait-Nouri now has four days to recover from his exertions in Ivory Coast, and there is a chance that the youngster might be fit enough to play in Sunday’s game.
We know that Ait-Nouri is a player Gary O’Neil greatly admires. Earlier this season, the manager affectionately branded him ‘mad’ and also said that ‘the sky is the limit’ for him in terms of his potential.
The Molineux head coach has turned to him at almost every opportunity, handing him 19 appearances across all competitions so far.
He would probably love nothing more than to get Ait-Nouri back into his starting XI this weekend, and we will likely learn on Friday what the chances are of that happening.