McCarthy looks for injury boost

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy hopes four key players could soon be available after injury lay-offs.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Chris Iwelumo, Michael Kightly and Kevin Foley have all missed the start to the Barclays Premier League campaign.

Ebanks-Blake and Iwelumo scored more than 50 goals between them last season and helped Wolverhampton Wanderers gain promotion back to the Barclays Premier League.

They have been sidelined at the start of the current campaign with hamstring and metatarsal setbacks respectively - with Kightly (metatarsal) and last season's Player Of The Year Foley (knee) also out of action.

But McCarthy is confident the quartet may be able to return to training after the international break.

He said: "We've got 40-50 goals in Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake sat on the physio's table.

"We've got 10 goals a season from Michael Kightly sat on the physio's table. To have Chris and Sylvan missing, with all the goals they scored, is a real frustration.

"Ebanks-Blake will be another couple of weeks, Iwelumo might be training when everyone comes back from the internationals, Kightly might be training with the squad after the break and the same with Foley. There is every chance of that.

"I would like all my squad back fit. That would make a big difference."

McCarthy confirmed that defender Stephen Ward will be out of action for two to three weeks. He has undergone a knee operation.