Future of £15m Wolves star thrust into doubt after Gary O'Neil admission

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has cast doubts over the future of Jonny Castro after his exclusion against Arsenal.

The 29-year-old won't be available for selection for their upcoming fixtures, and whether he returns remains to be seen. He was absent from the match-day squad in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend, and will not be in consideration for Wolves' clash with Burnley at Molineux on Tuesday (December 5).

O'Neil revealed at the weekend that Jonny was absent against the Gunners, but did not disclose the reason. In his pre-match press conference against Burnley, O'Neil revealed an incident had happened at the training ground, however he did not reveal much more on what had happened, or whether his future

"Jonny won't be in the squad tomorrow," said O'Neil to the Express & Star. "There was a training ground incident last week that's being dealt with by the club.

“If or when he's back available, we'll let everybody know about it. At this moment in time he won't be available for the coming games.

“I'd rather not go into details in public. Things happen at training grounds and at football clubs a lot. The club are dealing with it.”

The Spanish left-back has been limited to just four minutes of Premier League action this season, and has been an unused substitute seven times. He has played just three matches with two 90 minute appearances against Blackpool and Ipswich Town. He is under contract Wolves until the summer of 2025, and now a departure in the January transfer window could be on the cards.

According to the report, Castro has been made to train away from their Compton Park training ground. The manager will play a role in the disciplinary process, and the club's hierarchy are dealing with the matter.

When asked if Casto still had a future at Wolves, O'Neil responded: “We'll update you when he's back around. At this stage, I can't give any more than that.

“That is all I know. He's not around at the moment and if or when he is, we'll let you know. So yeah, he's, he's definitely not going to be around for tomorrow. There can be healthy competitiveness and situations at training grounds but those ones generally aren't dealt with,” added O’Neil.

“Anything deemed beyond that is dealt with by myself and the club. I’m not going into the actual incident too much. We're working hard to shift the club in a certain direction and it is important that we continue to do so.

"So the Jonny incident has been dealt with and will continue to be dealt with by the club as it should be. My 100 per cent focus is on Burnley tomorrow and making sure that the lads that we have available are ready to go again.”

Full-back otto joined Wolves in the summer of 2018 from Atletico Madrid, and that deal was made permanent in January 2019. He joined for a reported £15m, and his deal was due to run until 2023, but then he signed a new deal in February 2021, extending his stay for a further four-years.