Vitor Pereira confirms three new Wolves injuries after Liverpool defeat
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira revealed three new injury concerns after the defeat at Anfield.
Vitor Pereira has confirmed Wolverhampton Wanderers added a third new injury during Sunday afternoon’s 2-1 loss at Liverpool, with two others ruled out with issues from before the game.
Wolves face a nervous wait to discover the severity of Emmanuel Agbadou’s injury after the winter signing hobbled off just after the hour mark at Anfield. Agbadou wasn’t having a good game as he made a mistake ahead of Mohamed Salah’s penalty and nearly gave away another spot-kick before he was taken off, but he’ll be a big miss if out for an extended period.
Pereira was asked about Agbadou in the post-match press conference at Anfield and the head coach confirmed it was an injury but wasn’t sure on the finer details. “Today Agbadou in half time he felt something,” Pereira said. “He should’ve told me that he felt something - he went to the second half and got injured. We must respect the body, if you feel something it’s time to go.”
On Sam Johnstone and Rodrigo Gomes, who surprisingly both missed out on the matchday squad, Pereira rather vaguely added: “Rodrigo has a problem. Sam felt something but it’s not serious.”
Wolves desperate not to lose Agbadou
Vital to Wanderers’ recent uptick in defensive form, Agbadou has slotted into the centre of Pereira’s back three superbly. The £16 million fee paid to Stade de Reims seems like a bargain from first impressions as Wolves have showed great improvement when defending from set pieces as a direct result of Agbadou’s introduction.
The first half at Anfield was a poor display from Wanderers as several defensive errors slipped in - one of which was from Agbadou - but the poor 45 minutes was somewhat of a surprise given Wolves have improved their defending in open play over recent weeks.
Toti Gomes’ return on the left of the three has been important but nobody has been as pivotal as Agbadou. Former manager Gary O’Neil often complained about the lack of physicality, aerial presence and pace at the back – Agbadou offers all three attributes in abundance, performing a similar role to what Yerson Mosquera did before suffering a season-ending injury against Aston Villa back in September.
Tests will be carried out over the next day or two to figure out exactly what Agbadou felt, and how long he’ll be out for. Wolves’ next fixture is next Saturday, away at surprise Champions League hopefuls AFC Bournemouth.