Wolverhampton Wanderers Face Defensive Injury Crisis

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been dealt an early-season defensive blow with confirmation that Kieran Trippier suffered a knee ligament injury on his league debut.

The 35-year-old right-back, who joined Wolves on a free transfer in June, damaged the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee during Friday’s 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers. The club expect him to be out “for a number of weeks”, a frustrating setback just as he was bedding into Gary O’Neil’s side.

The bad news does not stop there. Fellow defender Yerson Mosquera is also facing time out after picking up an injury in the same game. The 25-year-old has suffered a slight tear in his ankle ligaments and is also expected to miss several weeks, further stretching Wolves’ options at the back.

There is at least a sliver of light on the treatment table.

Wolves’ director of performance, Phil Hayward, delivered a more upbeat update on winger Rafiki Said. The 26-year-old summer signing sustained a “high-grade” MCL injury during a pre-season friendly against Maidenhead United last month, just 11 days after joining the club. It looked grim at the time.

Now the outlook is brighter.

“Rafiki's been working very hard in the gym for the last few weeks with his brace on. He's now out of the brace and the most recent scan looks great, so he's heading, certainly, in the right direction,” Hayward said.

The medical team are also closing in on two more returns. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is about a week away from full fitness, while Haiti international midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is expected to be another couple of weeks from rejoining first-team training.

Wolves’ season is barely underway, and already the squad is being reshaped by the injury list as much as the transfer market.