Star Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves could return from injury sooner than expected, with the Portugual international absent from action for the last month.
What's the latest?
Wolves manager Bruno Lage told the media earlier this month that Neves' injury 'was not as serious' as previously expected.
Moreover, injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries website, is 'hopeful' that the 25-year-old could be back playing earlier than planned - speaking to Football Insider, he said:
"My understanding initially hasn’t changed a great deal even with this new info.
"We’re talking about an MCL here. The indication that it was a grade two.
“I was working on the premise that we could maybe see a return around early to mid-May. I am still fairly hopeful that is the case.
“It happened against Leeds. He tried to continue but he couldn’t. He then went out to Portugal for some rehab and recovery.
“The target was always going to be around game week 35. I think there is a strong possibility that he’ll play again this season somewhere around there.”
The midfielder hasn't featured for Wolves since the
3-2 defeat against Leeds last month and there was certainly concern amongst the Molineux faithful that they wouldn't see the 25-year-old play for the Golden Boys again amid speculation of a summer
transfer.
Supporters will be delighted
With securing European football next season still possible for Lage's men, the Portuguese manager will be desperate to have as many players fit for the run-in, particularly key men like Neves.
The midfielder has been excellent this term, averaging a 7.2/10 match rating in the Premier League, according to
SofaScore.
Moreover, with Wolves
eighth in the league and two points behind West Ham in seventh with six games to go, the 25-year-old's return will be very welcome.
Granted, it's incredibly unlikely that Neves will be fit in time for the West Midlands outfit's trip to
Burnley on the 24th of April, however, Brighton at home on the 30th could be a potential return date.
With plenty of speculation surrounding the Portuguese, who is very popular with Wolves fans, we may be experiencing the start of the end for Neves' tenure with the Black Country club.
The 25-year-old remarkably
joined from FC Porto in 2017 with Wanderers still in the Championship for a record fee in the second-tier, having become the youngest ever captain for a Champions League game back in 2015.
Five seasons later and the midfielder has overseen
promotion to the Premier League, two seventh-placed finishes, an
FA Cup semi-final and a run to the quarter-final of the Europa League whilst making
207 appearances for the west Midlands club.
If Neves is to depart this summer, then Wolves supporters will be incredibly keen to see him in action again whilst also hoping the midfielder can contribute to a late push for European qualification, with the side just a handful of points outside a place in the top seven.
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