However, the Wolves head coach has been given a boost with Pedro Neto taking part in full training for the first time since picking up an ankle injury in early October. But Lopetegui is being cautious with the winger’s return to competitive action and said the situation will be reviewed ahead of this weekend’s visit to St Mary’s Stadium, which sees Wolves face Southampton in their latest Premier League outing.
On Hwang’s and Neto’s injuries
“These kinds of injuries depend on each player as they are all different in their recovery, but more or less I think [Hwang] will be four or five weeks.
“[Neto’s] going step by step, and he’s better, but he’s been out for four months so we have to be careful with him, but now he’s ready to help us. Today, we are going to review and after we are going to make the squad list because we have had some problems, but he is ready to help us.
“We have had some more problems, but we are going to wait and maybe we will have a couple of players who will have to stay here because they have little problems.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 7, 2023
On Lemina’s fitness ahead of returning to St Mary’s
“He’s better. I don’t know if he’s going to be 100 per cent but he’s better so we’ll have to take the decision tomorrow morning with him. We don’t know if he will play or not, because we have had a little problem with a couple of players.
“He came here to improve us and to balance in this position, of course. He’s a good player, he’s an experienced player, he knows the Premier League, he knows English football, and the English competitions, so it’s important for him and important for us. But now it’s not about Mario or Ruben or the team, it’s about him helping us to improve and to be able to win each match.”
On added belief after Liverpool result
“No, I think the players have believed since the first minute and they have to continue believing because it’s going to be a hard and very long race. We have to be ready for the good moments, for the bad moments, and we are going to have all kinds of situations, and we need to be able to compete for all of them and be ready for all of them.
“After the finish of the Liverpool match, we were thinking 100 per cent about Southampton, which for me, is a very good team. They have very good players, a good coach and maybe in a few matches they have been unlucky and they deserved more – in my opinion – and now they have improved the squad with very good signings, so the demand of us for tomorrow is going to be very high, for sure.”
On facing Southampton
“I only think in the next match. We have to put the focus in the next match we have in front of us, and we have Southampton, who I repeat, are a very good team and they will be a very important three points for them and for us, so we have to be ready to compete and to deserve to achieve positive things tomorrow.
“It’s going to be much harder [than Liverpool] for a lot of reasons. Tomorrow I am sure that it’s going to be a very hard match, undoubtedly, so we have to be ready.”
On the pressure faced by Saints counterpart Nathan Jones
“My opinion is that he’s a very good coach. He’s made good work and I’ve seen the Southampton matches and they play in a very good way. They are able to play with a line of four and also with a back of three or a back of five, and they can change this system, but in the end, they are a good team, an aggressive team, with a good idea.
“Sometimes you don’t win because this is football and it comes down to little details, but they are a good team undoubtedly and he’s a very good coach, for sure. As coaches, we have the same situation, which is in the end, you have to win – me, him, all the coaches.
“This is the summary of football. But Nathan Jones has made a very good job because I have seen their last matches and Southampton is a good team.”
🇲🇽 @Raul_Jimenez9 loves a goal against Southampton 🤩 pic.twitter.com/P5vJxdrCCQ
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 10, 2023
On replicating home form away from Molineux
“We have to get used to competing in all the environments and the most important thing is our behaviour in these environments. When you play at home, you have more energy from the fans and it’s a different atmosphere than when you play away, where you have to be ready to work through this situation.
“We are sure what kind of environment and match we have to find tomorrow in front of us, so we have to be ready to compete. First, we have a very good team in front of us and after, all these things are important and we have to be ready.”
