Wolverhampton Wanderers have been dealt a huge blow with the news that Pedro Neto may miss the rest of the season through injury.
In terms of numbers and level of performances, Neto has enjoyed his most impressive campaign for Wolves, contributing two goals and nine assists from his 19 appearances in the Premier League.
Such has been his impact in Gary O'Neil's side that there has been constant talk of a big-money move in the summer, with the Portugal international valued in excess of £50m.
However, Wolves may struggle to attract the kind of offers that they would have anticipated earlier in the season courtesy of a second significant hamstring injury for arguably their star man.
Between the end of October and end of December, Neto missed two months of action, and there were fears that would be the case when he suffered a similar issue with his opposite leg against Fulham last weekend.
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When O'Neil remained coy over Neto's availability before the Coventry City game, it was perceived that the 24-year-old may be able to return sooner rather than later.
Instead, the Englishman revealed after the agonising 3-2 defeat in the FA Cup quarter-finals that it would be a bonus if Neto featured again before the end of 2023-24.
O'Neil said, as quoted by the Express & Star: "Pedro, potentially, it's the end of the season for him. It's very similar to the injury he suffered on the other side.
"There's a chance he comes back for the last couple (games), maybe, if it goes really well."
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He added: "It's similar to the last injury, which was around nine weeks, so potentially around that time frame. The rehab can go differently, so it could be quicker or slightly longer. We'll see how it goes."
Wolves were depleted in terms of attacking players for the last-eight showdown with Coventry, with it taking until the final half hour when they were 1-0 down to pose a sustained threat in the final third.
Speaking at the same media briefing, O'Neil hinted that he was hopeful of Jean Ricner-Bellegarde and Matheus Cunha both coming back into contention for the match with Aston Villa on March 30.
Bellegarde may take slightly longer to recover from a knee issue and remains a bigger doubt, while Hwang Hee-chan remains sidelined until at least the middle of April with a hamstring injury.
Darren Plant
