Nuno Espirito Santo is hopeful Ryan Bennett will be available to face Slovan Bratislava tomorrow, according to Tim Nash.
In his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, the Portuguese manager confirmed that the 29-year-old had returned to training and was hopeful for the clash on Thursday (via Tim Nash).
The Englishman had limped out of a clash with Southampton at Molineux in mid-October with a groin injury, which, despite featuring against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, has kept Bennett out of the side for a number of weeks (per Birmingham Mail).
Espirito Santo in need of January reinforcements
Since Bennett’s injury, Wolves have had to call on Max Kilman from the youth set-up and have Leander Dendoncker fill in against Arsenal (via Sky Sports).
The defensive cover situation was made worse following Bennett’s troubles, as Willy Boly suffered an injury in training which required surgery (as per Birmingham Mail).
Wolves have four senior centre-backs in their squad, plus Kilman when required, with Conor Coady and Jesus Vallejo making up the quartet (per Transfermarkt).
But with the Old Gold featuring across so many competitions this term, Espirito Santo needs strength in depth and should enter the January market to provide some cover for Wolves’ back three.
TiF Tactics – Will Bennett be immediately reintroduced?
The likelihood is that Bennett will make his comeback for the Old Gold on Thursday night should he be fit to play due to the lack of senior defensive numbers (as per Birmingham Mail).
Having featured for Wolves last against Aston Villa in the 2-1 cup defeat, Bennett was clearly not at his best and only mustered a 6/10 (per Express and Star).
Despite Kilman ranking higher in that game with a 7/10, it is likely Bennett’s seniority will earn him the nod, unless both feature in the clash alongside Coady or Vallejo.