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Vitor Pereira nightmare as Wolves learn Emmanuel Agbadou injury timeframe – it’s bad news 

Wolves’ worst fears have materialised as an update has emerged on the fitness of Emmanuel Agbadou ahead of the clash against Bournemouth.

Wolves tasted a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday but the biggest concern to emerge from the match at Anfield was the condition of centre-back Agbadou.

The Ivorian was taken off in the 61st minute and replaced by Santiago Bueno, with Vitor Pereira confirming Agbadou suffered a muscular injury.

It was an update that didn’t sound too promising from the Wolves manager, and his worst fears were imagined after hearing how long he could now be out injured.

Emmanuel Agbadou set for three to four weeks on the sidelines

Since completing a £16.6 million transfer to Wolves from Stade Reims in January, Agbadou has been a revelation in central defence.

The towering defender has instantly solidified a leaky backline and improved those around him, with Matt Doherty and Toti Gomes elevating their games.

Agbadou was named the Wolves Player of the Month for January, underlining his instant impact, while keeping him fit was seen as crucial in their fight for survival.

Unfortunately, as revealed by journalists Liam Keen and Nathan Judah on the Express & Star podcast, the 27-year-old is set for three to four weeks on the sidelines and that is a crushing blow to Wolves.

“When you look at it as a hamstring injury, but if he is in any way involved, we’d be very surprised. And then the sort of specific details around the length of time, obviously we need to speak to Vitor Pereira on Friday as well, but we are expecting it to be relatively similar to Strand Larsen.

“So we’re looking at three to four weeks minimum,” Judah replied.

What games Agbadou could miss for Wolves

He’s only been here a short amount of time but Agbadou has made an immense impact on those around him, with fans no doubt left saddened by this news.

A calming influence in the heart of defence and a physical specimen in any ground or aerial duel, Agbadou has become almost irreplaceable to Pereira.

At this stage of the season when the fixtures come thick and fast, an important player being out for four weeks could make all the difference.

It means the Ivorian could miss Wolves next five fixtures leading up to the international break in March, including the trip to Bournemouth in the FA Cup, the home clash against Everton and the huge showdown at Southampton.

With Pereira’s men sitting precariously above the bottom three, they couldn’t have lost Agbadou at a much worse time and supporters will hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Wolves supporters have witnessed some of their former players reach the pinnacle of world football after leaving Molineux while others have experienced a downward spiral.

Diogo Jota is perhaps the prime example of the former. Part of the Wolves 2017/18 Championship title-winning squad, the Portuguese forward has since become a star at Liverpool.

Fan favourite Ruben Neves, who wowed the Wolves faithful for years with his technical talents, is now earning lucrative money out in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.

Other more recent examples such as Pedro Neto and Max Kilman became stars in Wolverhampton before earning big-money moves elsewhere.

But one Wolves academy graduate has watched his career spiral in the opposite direction after previously making history at Molineux.

Wolves youngest Premier League debutant Anthony Forde released by Wrexham

Anthony Forde is a graduate of the Wanderers academy and in November 2011, he made Premier League history for Wolves by becoming their youngest-ever debutant in the competition.

At the age of just 18 years and 10 days, Forde came off the bench in the final 15 minutes as Wolves lost 3-0 against Chelsea.

The once fleet-footed winger made five further appearances during that campaign, even starting as a left winger in draws against Arsenal and Sunderland.

Wolves were eventually relegated from the Premier League on 25 points in 2012, and then they suffered back-to-back relegations in the following campaign, with Forde starting just once in the second tier.

Despite dropping into League One, the Irishman only played three more times for Wolves before being snapped up by Walsall in 2014 and then endured spells at Rotherham United, Oxford and most recently, Wrexham.

Forde was signed by Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds when they were in the National League, and he made 31 appearances in the 2022/23 campaign as the Red Dragons won promotion to League Two.

Unfortunately, Forde only made 14 appearances in the fourth tier as Phil Parkinson’s men earned back-to-back promotions to League One and was then left out of the squad at the start of the 2024/25.