Gary O’Neil has confirmed that Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera is likely to miss the rest of the season after coming off against Aston Villa.
The Columbian collided with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers in the 82nd minute of their 3-1 defeat in the Premier League. Mosquera was taken off the field on a stretcher, leaving many fans fearing the worst.
After the game, O’Neil said that the injury didn’t look great, but it was too early at the time to know for sure.
What has O’Neil said about Mosquera’s injury?
Speaking on the club’s website, O’Neil confirmed that the defender had picked up a medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury:
“Yerson has now had all of the various assessments and scans which unfortunately confirm injuries to the MCL and the ACL.
“We will be visiting specialists in the coming days to finalise the plan for surgery; this will take place in the next two weeks.
“Clearly there is a long recovery period ahead for Yerson, and the club will be providing all the support he needs to ensure a successful rehabilitation and a return to competition in due course.
“Timescales are difficult to state prior to surgery, but it is highly unlikely he will feature again this season.”
How has Mosquera started this season for Wolves?
Mosquera started the season well, filling the void left by the departing Max Kilman. In his opening five games, Mosquera had an average Sofascore rating of 6.98 putting him third in the Wolves teams ranking. His highest rating was 7.8 against Villa before picking up his injury.
Defensively, he had made a positive start. He had two interceptions per game, 2.2 tackles per game, 4.8 balls recovered per game, and 2.8 clearances per game.
The defender also led the team in accurate passes per game (86%) and accurate long balls per game (2.4).
How big of a miss will Mosquera be? – opinion
Centre-back was a position Wolves were already short, given the sale of Kilman to West Ham. This sale gave Mosquera a chance to slot into the Wolves side and make a solid start to this season.
Now he’s injured, O’Neil has got a big problem to solve. 18-year-old Bastien Meupiyou arrived this summer from Nantes but is yet to make his debut after arriving with an injury.
Santiago Bueno and Toti Gomes can both play centre half if needed. O’Neil could also call on young Alife Pond who is a natural centre-back.
Whoever O’Neil picks, they’ll have big shoes to fill with the way the Columbian has started the season for Wolves.