Wolves manager Gary O’Neil feels new Chelsea signing Pedro Neto has been unlucky with injuries and never struck him as injury prone.
The Blues are hoping to record their first Premier League points of the season when they take on Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.
Chelsea will be hoping their task is made easier after signing Neto from their opponents this summer, with the Portugal international causing them issues in the past.
Neto not injury prone
Neto joined the Blues in a surprise deal worth £51.4m and made his debut last weekend against Manchester City before starting his first game for the club in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night against Servette.
The Portugal international’s quality isn’t in doubt and he’s shown he can be one of the best wingers in the Premier League with his performances during his time at Wolves.
The one big question mark hanging over the 24-year-old is his injury record with the Portuguese missing a lot of football over the past few seasons.
However, speaking ahead of Sunday’s game his former manager O’Neil believes Neto’s been unlucky with injuries and isn’t an injury prone player.
“I always felt he was unfortunate with injuries, he never struck me as injury prone,” he told reporters.
“That will be a question mark around him at the moment. It’s not one I’d be concerned about, which is why I was desperate to keep him and play him every week, but you can understand that may have had an impact in the summer.”
Chelsea don’t have a good record at Molineux and haven’t won at the ground since 2019 when Frank Lampard was in charge and they recorded a 5-2 victory.
Maresca has already revealed it’s unlikely Neto will start against his former club, but there could be a debut for Joao Felix who has trained with his new team-mates ahead of the game.
Whoever plays for Chelsea we need to hit them and hit them hard including Neto if he plays,and watch for the Chelsea players diving at every opportunity at the slightest of touches.