Vitor Pereira confirms three new Wolves injury blows after Tottenham draw

Wolves’ new head coach extended his sublime unbeaten start to three matches with a late snatch of a point at Tottenham but it didn’t come cheaply as the Old Gold suffered two new injury concerns – and there was another before the game.

Talisman Matheus Cunha and £21 million summer signing Andre were both substituted prematurely at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, forcing Pereira to switch up his tactics. Cunha being taken off at half time came as a huge surprise as he hadn’t shown any sign of a knock in the first period, while Andre couldn’t continue after feeling pain in the second half.

The third issue is for versatile defender Toti Gomes, who wasn’t included in the matchday squad despite playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 win over Manchester United. He is expected to miss three to four weeks of action. Although not as influential as Cunha, Wolves could miss Toti just as much with the squad lacking depth in central defence.

Pereira confirmed during Sunday’s post-match press conference that all three players are injured. Toti’s issue is with his hamstring, Andre’s was a ‘surprise’ blow after three starts in quick succession and Cunha’s substitution was requested as he felt at risk of a muscular problem.

“We lost Toti, we lost Cunha at half time and this is not a big squad. We showed we must find the solutions,” Pereira said. “Andre was the third game in a row, in my experience the third game brings always surprises.

“That’s why we didn’t start with [Jorgen Strand] Larsen, he complained a bit with something in his hamstrings. We didn’t start with [Goncalo] Guedes because it was a long time without playing and a third game in a row is a problem most of the time.

“Cunha at half time spoke with me and told me, ‘coach I felt something during the first half and now I’m afraid to speed up when I need to speed up. I need to make a sprint, I don’t feel confidence for this’. It’s better to stay out of the game, he told me, and I respect that.

“Maybe it’s not serious I hope, but I don’t know. What we do know is Cunha is a very important player for us but I must find in the squad players with other skills and qualities. They can do it,” Pereira continued.