Bruno Lage won't rush Jonny's Wolves return

Bruno Lage is not putting pressure on Jonny Castro Otto to make a swift return as Wolves aim to avoid another injury relapse.

The left-wing-back originally suffered a anterior cruciate ligament injury on his right knee in August 2020 before, after a short comeback, being dealt a devastating blow when he injured his ACL and medial collateral ligament on the same knee in April last year.

Jonny is now back on the grass and has started taking part in some team training drills, but head coach Lage is eager not to rush him.

He said: "It's very good (to see him back). I give a lot of confidence to him to give his time and he's starting to warm up with the team and do some drills.

"The most important thing is for him to feel confident that we are waiting for him, but no pressure.

"No pressure means day by day. All week he did the warm ups and some drills with the ball, even today he was with the team preparing for the game and the strategy.

"He needs to continue and understand every day how he feels. He doesn't have pain and continues his process.

"It will be day by day and when he's fully ready he can do the full training and we can discuss a strategy to win minutes.

"For now, there's no pressure and we give him a lot of confidence that when he's ready to play we can start to think about it."

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Jonny Otto of Wolverhampton Wanderers continues his rehabilitation from injury during a Wolverhampton Wanderers Training Session at The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground on December 29, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images).

It is the same situation, too, for Pedro Neto.

Last season's player of the year broke his kneecap in April and was originally due for a comeback in October.

The winger then suffered a setback that pushed his recovery back to late 2021 and after spending time in Portugal recovering, that was again moved to the New Year.

Now, after months of setbacks, Neto is back on the grass and Lage hopes to see him back in training by the end of this month – but the head coach wants to avoid further injuries and will not rush him.

He added: "He (Neto) will be the same because the worst thing is to put the players under pressure, they don't feel comfortable and after if something happens we regret.

"We are trying to find solutions in our squad. We need these players because they are important players for us, but I don't want to put anyone under pressure.

"When you're talking about knee injuries, we need to take care."