Wolves defender Kieran Trippier suffers knee injury on league debut

Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed that right-back Kieran Trippier suffered a knee ligament injury during his league debut against Blackburn Rovers on Friday.

The former England international sustained damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee during the 2-2 draw.

Having only arrived at Molineux on a free transfer in June, the 35-year-old is now expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.

Mosquera adds to defensive woes

Trippier is not the only absentee for the West Midlands club, with fellow defender Yerson Mosquera also picking up a knock during the same fixture.

The 25-year-old sustained a slight tear in his ankle ligaments and is similarly facing a multi-week spell in the treatment room.

These concurrent defensive setbacks will force a tactical reshuffle as the squad navigates the early stages of their league campaign.

Positive updates on Said and Johnstone

Despite the double defensive blow, Wolves director of performance Phil Hayward provided a much more optimistic update on winger Rafiki Said.

The 26-year-old summer signing suffered a high-grade MCL injury during a pre-season friendly against Maidenhead United last month, occurring just 11 days after he joined the club.

“Rafiki’s been working very hard in the gym for the last few weeks with his brace on. He’s now out of the brace and the most recent scan looks great, so he’s heading, certainly, in the right direction.”

Hayward also confirmed that goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is only a week away from returning to full fitness.

Meanwhile, Haiti international midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is expected to rejoin first-team training in approximately two weeks.