Wolverhampton

Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto spoke to BBC Radio WM after their win against Burnley.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Wolves striker Adam Armstrong is set to miss Friday's Championship trip to Burnley because of a back injury, boss Cesar Peixoto has revealed.

The 29-year-old has only scored once in the league this season but has started up front in Wolves' past three games in the absence of Raul Jimenez, who is out until January with a knee injury.

It leaves Peixoto short of experienced striking options for the trip to Turf Moor, with teenagers Sean Neave and Mateus Mane two potential replacements.

"Adam has a problem in the back and is not going to play," Peixoto told BBC Radio WM. "We think he might be ready to play in the next game [against Portsmouth on Tuesday].

"The Championship is like that. We have to manage the minutes and because of that I want two players per position to rotate the team."

Wolves head to Burnley, who were also relegated from the Premier League last season, having slipped to 10th in the table following back-to-back defeats by Middlesbrough and Bolton.

After going into the international break with such confidence, the last few days have been a jarring experience for Wolves, even considering the normal snakes-and-ladders environment of the Championship.

With last night's report that Raul Jimenez's knee injury, initially thought to be only a brief setback, is likely to keep him out for around half of the remaining league games, this could be a bad week with longer-lasting consequences than most.

That the news should emerge after two games in which his absence was especially keenly felt is typical of the league's capricious nature.

Wolves fans, however, may not at present be inclined to shrug this off as just bad luck, the turning of a nasty 'chance card' at the wrong moment.

At the time of his selection for the Carabao Cup tie at Everton, there was surprise that Jimenez was risked for a relatively low-priority fixture, in Black Country derby week.

The level of criticism of manager Cesar Peixoto for that decision felt a little harsh.

Somebody had to play, and Jimenez was logically no more likely to be injured in that game than any other. Peixoto's argument, that Jimenez needed more game time to build up his match fitness, was credible.

It is reasonable to worry about such a dearly-loved veteran player, but the only way to be sure of avoiding any risk of injury is never to take him off the shelf at all.

Image source, Shutterstock

The ire of fans may instead focus on decisions made months ago, as Wolves were trying to piece together their squad rebuild, which took some unexpected turns.

They had longer than most clubs to prepare for their destination, and signed Adam Armstrong last January, by common understanding as a start towards building a squad to win the second tier.

He is by no means at the top of his form, but arguably Wolves have been firing over crosses as if Jimenez himself was still there winning headers, not serving the smaller man.

There is a shortage of alternatives. Mateus Mane has made fleeting appearances as the spearhead, but seems happier out wide. It might be time to give a chance to Sean Neave, talented but obviously green.

Was the intention to find somebody else, after Tolu Arokodare and Sasa Kalajdzic were allowed to go? Perhaps. Arokodare's move to Ajax was hardly mourned, but there were voices suggesting that Kalajdzic, despite his wretched luck with injuries, ought to be retained at least until a replacement arrived.

Instead, he played against Liverpool in the Champions League this week, and Wolves missed him, or somebody like him.

Ged Scott and Mike Taylor
BBC Sport England

Image source, Shutterstock

Wolves captain Kieran Trippier has stressed that now is the time to keep calm at Molineux after coming back from the extended international break straight to back-to-back defeats.

After the impressive way Wolves beat West Bromwich Albion in the last game before the Championship's three-week autumn sojourn, Cesar Peixoto's side have been pulled up with a jolt, first at Middlesbrough on Saturday, then 3-1 by Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night, Wolves' first home defeat of the campaign.

They now have to travel to Turf Moor on Friday night to face one of Trippier's former clubs Burnley. But the 36-year-old Clarets old boy admitted that his experience in the second tier has prepared him well for times like these.

"I've played many years in the Championship," he told BBC Radio WM. "I know what it's all about, the ups and downs in football.

"The key now is to keep calm and stay positive. You just have to stand up and get though moments like this.

"It's all about people like me staying positive about the place."

Having equalised against Bolton on Tuesday, Wolves did have a great chance to take the lead, only for Adam Armstrong to be denied by keeper Gavin Bazunu before Sam Dalby put the visitors 2-1 up and Josh Sheehan added a late third goal.

"We got back into the game and were controlling it," Trippier added. "And it was a fine save which changed the game. Then we lost possession and they got in. It's all about fine margins. That's football.

"But we've only played nine or 10 games, there's 37 games left.

"We know we have got to do better, definitely, but we've got another game Friday night. Burnley will be another tough one. But we know we can do much better."

Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto spoke to BBC Radio WM after their loss against Bolton Wanderers.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.