Wolves' Willy Boly pushing hard for a spot of derby day duty
Wolves defender Willy Boly is in contention to make his return in tomorrow’s derby at Villa.
The 30-year-old, who has not played for a month due to a hamstring injury, returned to the matchday squad as an unused substitute in Tuesday’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
Having trained for the rest of the week, the imposing centre-back is now targeting a first start since February 2 at Villa Park.
Boly was on the bench when Villa won 1-0 at Molineux in December and will be aiming for a strong finish to what has been a frustrating season blighted by niggling injuries.
He also missed several matches during December and January due to a thigh problem.
His return now provides more options for boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who this season has experienced by far the greatest injury crisis since arriving at Wolves in 2017.
Several key player have been sidelined for extended periods. Forward Daniel Podence has been out for more than a month with a thigh injury, while full-back Fernando Marcal has undergone two surgeries.
Raul Jimenez remains by far the biggest loss, with the striker still to return after suffering a fractured skull in November.
Wolves, meanwhile, are unlikely to block the release of any players for international duty following Portugal’s decision to switch this month’s World Cup qualifier with Azerbaijan to Italy.
Portugal is currently on the coronavirus ‘red list’ meaning anyone returning from the country to the UK is required to quarantine for 10 days.
That would have created a problem for Wolves, who had five players called up to the Portugal squad for the most recent international break last November. But the Portugeuse FA have now arranged to stage their home match with Azerbaijan in Turin, in a bid to avoid any issues.
