Julen Lopetegui
Julen Lopetegui has revealed Wolverhampton Wanderers have more injury concerns than Daniel Podence going into their FA Cup tie with Liverpool. Podence suffered an injury during the first half of Wolves’ 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday night and needed to be replaced at half-time. The Portuguese winger had earlier given Wolves the lead at Villa Park with an excellent strike. He might not be the only notable absentee at Anfield with Lopetegui waiting on the results of several fitness tests. The Spaniard again elected to keep the names of Wolves’ fresh injury concerns private. Giving his latest injury update,
Julien Lopetegui said: “We are going to check today, not only Daniel Podence because we have more problems. We are going to wait until the last minute to have the line-up. In the last match we had a very short squad list and now we have more problems. This is the situation. We have to analyse well and make the best decision.”
Lopetegui confirmed on Wednesday that Boubacar Traore would face an extended spell on the sidelines. The Malian midfielder has a groin injury and won’t be available to Lopetegui for the foreseeable future.
Julien Lopetegui said: “He is going to be out for maybe two months. Wolves will also be without long-term injury absentees Chiquinho, Sasa Kalajdzic and Pedro Neto at Anfield.
On Neto,
Julien Lopetegui added: “We are very attentive about his progress. He is progressing well but I think we have to wait minimum one month more to see him with us.”
