This season has been a difficult one for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nuno Santo.
They haven’t come anywhere close to reaching their goal of European football and injuries have plagued their campaign.
Raul Jimenez has been out since November while he recovers from a fractured skull while Jonny is currently undergoing rehab on a second ACL injury in the space of a year.
Pedro Neto could now also miss six months with a broken patella. Successful surgery has occurred but it’s a long way back for the magical Portuguese winger.
Unfortunately, Wolves are now sweating over two more injury blows ahead of their clash with West Brom.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference last week, Nuno commented: “We have many problems that, unfortunately, are happening to us."
Nuno added: “The squad list will reflect the issues we have. To say who it is affected would be an advantage to our opponent.”
A quick look at the injury table tells you two of the blows are to Joao Moutinho and Nelson Semedo.
The Portuguese pair are facing late fitness tests and are currently only described as 50% ready to feature on Monday evening.
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Moutinho missed the 4-0 defeat to Burnley due to an ankle problem while Semedo is suffering from a minor knock.
The former has had a difficult few weeks with injury, returning from the last international break with a groin problem.
Yet more injury worries should have the Old Gold manager running scared. After all, they were still hammered by the Clarets last week despite having essentially a fully fit backline.
Semedo has been a liability from a defensive point of view this term but he’s still an experienced professional. Having to throw Ki-Jana Hoever into the firing line at such a difficult time would not be ideal.
Wolves could also do with the cool and collected qualities that Moutinho brings with him. After all, Ruben Neves and Leander Dendoncker were bullied in midfield at Molineux last time out.
With so many of their key players already missing, the last thing Nuno needs is two of his most reputable players absent from a Midlands derby.
The Old Gold will need to be ready for a battle tonight with the Baggies staring down the barrel of relegation.