Shropshire Star

Villa v Wolves: Who's out and who's a doubt

Wolves return to Premier League action with a trip to nearby rivals Villa.

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But who is still missing the game from Gary O'Neil's depleted squad?

Matheus Cunha - 50% chance

The Brazilian was back in training ahead of the Coventry game two weeks ago but did not make the squad.

It is now expected he will return to the squad to face Villa tomorrow, after recovering ahead of schedule from a nasty hamstring injury.

But O'Neil remained coy on if Cunha will play against Villa.

O'Neil said: "Matheus Cunha will play some football for us this week.

"He's back, he's fine and has worked his socks off. He's shaved an enormous amount of time off the medical diagnosis of what he had.

"He's done unbelievably well and now the decision for me is when and how long he plays. He is training, sprinting and has done everything you can do to test the hamstring, apart from being put into a Premier League game.

"It's now on me to decide if that's from the start tomorrow, the bench tomorrow or from the start on Tuesday. We're trying to get it right for him as he's massively important to us for tomorrow's game, but also the nine after that.

"He has an important summer as well with Copa America, where hopefully he will play a big part in.

"There's big decisions to be made on Matheus Cunha, but the work he's done and how keen he's been to get back involved is unbelievably impressive.

"I've not seen anything like it before really. I've not seen anyone shave that much time off it and look as powerful and strong as he does."

Craig Dawson - 0% chance

Dawson has been struggling with a groin injury and has not trained ahead of tomorrow's clash.

"Craig is doing better, so we're hopeful he's back with the group next week," O'Neil said.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde - 0% chance

Sidelined with a knee injury, it is hoped Bellegarde will be available in the coming weeks.

"We're waiting for the knee to settle before we can push him," O'Neil said.

"It's not great news on Jean, we were hoping it would settle quicker than it has but it's taken a little longer.

"He's still with the medical team. There's no real time frame on him yet."

Hwang Hee-chan - 0% chance

Hwang is out with a hamstring complaint and was expected to be back around mid-April, if all goes well.

But O'Neil now hopes he may be back slightly quicker than that.

He said: "He's on the grass and working hard on his own.

"His hamstring feels good and he feels good, so we're just trying to get him through all the tests and over the hurdles that make it safe for him to come back in.

"He's not too far away. Hopefully he can shave a little bit off that three weeks from now."

Pedro Neto - 0% chance

Neto will certainly not be available for tomorrow, with his season in doubt following a big hamstring injury.

If he does play again this season, it will in the final two games at the earliest.

"He'll be back fit around the end of the season," O'Neil said.

"It may be a couple of weeks before, maybe the last game. Then there will be a decision to make as obviously he has a big summer with the Euros, that I know he's keen to get back for.

"We're keen to get him back as soon as possible and we won't let the fixture list of schedule dictate when he's back.

"We're disappointed for him as he worked hard to get back from the last injury, but he'll come back fine no doubt.

"He's working very, very hard and he's keen to get back as quickly as possible, like he did last time.

"He worked hard last time to get back ahead of schedule and hopefully he can do the same."