Wolverhampton Wanderers leave Michael Kightly out of squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers today became the first club to confirm their 25-man English Premier League squad for this season — and there is no place for Michael Kightly.
The winger has been out of action for more than nine months, and manager Mick McCarthy feels it would not make sense to give one of the spots to the 24-year-old who is struggling to recover from problems with his knee.
McCarthy added that, once former England Under-21 international Kightly makes a return to full fitness, he will be sent out on loan to work his way back into the rigours of playing football at a high level.
'No pressure'
McCarthy told his club’s official website that: "We're just going to let Kights get on with it. He's still not quite ready to come back and there's no pressure on him — it will take as long as it takes. When he is ready, we'll be able to discuss with him the possibility of going out on loan, which he can do before we have the chance to revise the squad in January."
Kightly joined Wolves in November 2006 on an emergency loan from Conference side Grays Athletic and impressed enough for the move to be made permanent in January 2007. He quickly became a regular with the first team in the then Football League Championship side and helped them win the division in the 2008-09 season to gain promotion to the EPL. Despite becoming an important player for McCarthy, Kightly has struggled with various injuries which have also seen him miss a significant portion of the 2007-08 season.
Meanwhile, McCarthy added that he was happy with his squad. He told reporters that: “I am delighted with the squad I've got at my disposal. Now we've got the 25 sorted and we can crack on without any interruptions until January."
Wolves are attempting to establish themselves in the top flight after a strong start to the season which has seen them win 2-1 against Stoke City and pick up points from draws with Everton and Newcastle United.
Squad list
The full squad list, which Wolves will submit to the EPL tomorrow, is as follows:
Goalkeepers — Marcus Hahnemann, Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme.
Defenders — Kevin Foley, Ronald Zubar, Richard Stearman, Jody Craddock, Christophe Berra, Steven Mouyokolo, George Elokobi, Michael Mancienne (on loan from Chelsea), Stephen Ward and Jelle Van Damme.
Midfielders — Karl Henry, David Jones, Dave Edwards, Greg Halford, Nenad Milijas, Adlene Guedioura, Matt Jarvis and Stephen Hunt.
Strikers — Kevin Doyle, Steven Fletcher, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Marcus Bent (on loan from Birmingham City).
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