Wolves Face Injury Setbacks with Trippier and Mosquera

Wolves have been dealt an early-season blow with confirmation that Kieran Trippier suffered a knee ligament injury on his league debut for the club.

The 35-year-old right-back, signed 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”, cutting short the momentum of his arrival just as he was bedding into Gary O’Neil’s side.

Further Setbacks

The setback doesn’t end there.

Defender Yerson Mosquera also faces time out after picking up an injury in the same game against Blackburn. The 25-year-old has a slight tear in his ankle ligaments and is expected to miss several weeks, leaving Wolves suddenly light in defensive options only days into the new campaign.

Positive Notes

There is at least one positive note from the treatment room.

Wolves director of performance Phil Hayward revealed encouraging progress for winger Rafiki Said, who suffered a “high-grade” MCL injury during a pre-season friendly against Maidenhead United last month, just 11 days after joining the club.

“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, outlining a clear step forward in the 26-year-old’s recovery.

Hayward also confirmed that 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 now move into the heart of their early fixtures juggling optimism over returning players with the reality of losing two key defenders just as the season begins to take shape.