The defender made his return from a hamstring problem against West Bromwich Albion recently and continued his progress with a Man of the Match display in the Emirates FA Cup on Friday evening. While Boly is back fighting fit, key personnel still remain out for Wolves, and the Ivory Coast international, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Chelsea, says it’s up to the group to overcome their issues and get back on track in the Premier League.
On the need to get back on track
“It’s not just about Chelsea, we are in a difficult position. Its been six games without a win in the Premier League, so three points for us would be really great. It’s not because of the Chelsea game we won at home, we just want to beat the team we face next.
“We are working very hard on it, with Nuno and all the team, we have to trust in the team and hopefully it’s going to be good for us in the next few games.”
On his return against West Brom
“We are trying to find solutions from this game because it was very difficult for us, especially for me, because I came back from my injury. When I came back, we tried to keep a clean sheet because it’s our strength.
“I gave the first penalty, so I wasn’t happy at all. We managed to come back but lost it again, and it was very painful for us, but what we can do it keep working and try to not repeat that kind of game.”
On his own personal injury
“The injury that I had was at the end of the game against Chelsea. My hamstring was a little bit sore. I played around 30 games in a row and I think at the end I was a little bit tired and my hamstring was sore.
“I tried to keep going, but I shouldn’t, so I stayed out for three weeks. It was difficult, you can see a lot of players are getting hamstring injuries.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 16, 2021
On the injuries to the squad
“Physically it’s a little bit difficult for everybody because of the schedule. Last season was really long and this season we’ve not really had holidays. We came back straight away and it’s very intense.
“We have a lot of fixtures and lost our striker Raul [Jimenez] and he’s definitely our best player on the pitch, but we are trying to find solutions because we are a team and we have to do it.
“If you have a long squad, it’s easier because when the players get injured you can bring another player easily. Now, the fact a lot of players are out is difficult for us, but we are trying to find solutions.”
On trying to prevent injuries
“We always adapting ourselves to the next game. It’s difficult with the situation. With the team, we have to train always to find the solution to be better and it’s not easy at all. We are training every day and sometimes we have to change at the last minute.
“If a player has Covid, sometimes he cannot train, he has to stay at home and it’s difficult because when he comes back the team is going.
“We are trying to be the highest fitness possible for the next game. Sometimes you can say to Nuno, that you are tired, so you can miss training and rest. You have to adapt yourself; you have to listen to your body and be fit to the maximum.”
On coping with injuries after last year
“It was unlucky [last year]. I was training before the game of Newcastle and the pitch was wet. We had some rain and I slipped on the pitch and injured my ankle. I spent three months recovering, but the job we did was very good because after that I managed to play a lot of games in a row.
“When you have the injury, you don’t know when you’ll come back. Physically it’s difficult because we’re used to working every day and running, and you cannot. It’s painful and mentally you have doubts and you need some people to help you.
“You have to trust yourself to come back. You have to trust your body and it’s your job, so you have to work and keep going.”
On his return from injury last time
“One week after I was in the gym doing work. If I cannot move my legs, I can move my arms, so I was doing it. With the physio every day I was doing work, and when I came back the main thing was mentally. Physically I was pretty good, but mentally it was difficult because you don’t know.
“Even when you train, in a game it’s totally different. The first game at Manchester United I was afraid, I had some fear about playing. In the 20st minute I was trying to feel my body, to see if it’s good, you don’t want to go back to the injury, and this is bad for you, but after that you’re OK.”
