Gary O’Neil is currently navigating a difficult period at Wolves – and there’s one player whose absence could prove to be very costly.
Wanderers have recently started to falter in the Premier League, and have now not won in the competition since against Fulham on March 9.
There was belief that Wolves could finish in the European places. That is still a small possibility, but realistically a top-half finish is the aim. Anything less than a win against Bournemouth tonight would all but rule out the chance to play European football next season.
In 2024, Wolves’ small squad has really felt the pinch, with a number of key players succumbing to injury.
Much was made of the fact that Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto were all ruled out at the same time. The trio had been the ultimate standout performers for O’Neil.
Cunha and Hwang are back now, but Neto remains out and is fighting to appear again before the season is out.
Neto has been missed, but there’s another player for Wolves whose absence has really been felt…
Craig Dawson injury might end up costing Wolves places in the Premier League table
Before the international break, Craig Dawson picked up a groin injury but there weren’t too many major concerns initially.
O’Neil suggested that he would not be out for too long, and had even said that he could play a small amount of minutes.
But the manager then revealed that Dawson was actually being considered for surgery, as he had been playing with pain. Now, the 33-year-old has had that surgery and will not play again for Wanderers this season.
It is a major blow, as Dawson has been a revelation since signing for the club in January 2023.
Dawson’s impact on the Wolves backline has been tremendous, with the former West Ham United man improving those around him and bringing about an authority.
Since Dawson last played, Wolves have won just one of their last six games Premier League games, and went out of the FA Cup to Coventry City.
His replacement Santi Bueno has done OK, and has been improving with each game as he gets to grips with the Premier League. But the backline does just miss that commanding, experienced presence.
Wolves have not kept a single clean sheet since Dawson has been out of the team, which does suggest that he has been missed quite a bit.
Dawson a greater miss than Neto
There is an argument here that Dawson is proving a greater miss for Wolves than Neto.
Neto is a special talent who is capable of producing magic to win games on his own.
But the fact is Wolves still have some decent attacking options in the team, with Cunha and Hwang both scoring 10 or more goals each this term.
Both of those players are fit now, albeit Cunha did miss the last game with a knock.
But Wolves can still produce in the final third without Neto, whereas clean sheets are seemingly a lot harder to come by without £45,000-a-week star Dawson, who was described as ‘unbelievable’ by Lemina earlier this season.
If Wolves miss out on European football, the untimely absence of Dawson would have surely been a major factor.