Donovan Wilson backed by Paul Lambert to succeed at Wolves

The 19-year-old was handed a surprise debut when he came off the bench during Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup defeat against Chelsea.

The former Bristol Rovers striker said his 14-minute cameo was a 'dream come true'.

His recent goalscoring form for the under-23s (Wilson scored again in a 2-1 win over Brighton on Monday) convinced Lambert he was worth a chance in the first-team setup with Nouha Dicko out injured.

And Lambert thinks that is the youngster uses his pace to good effect he can make an impact with Wolves.

"I first saw him at Compton Park when we played with the kids, he played wide and I thought he did alright and had a wee bit of speed," Lambert told the Express & Star. "And he went out injured at a bad time for him. Then I've seen him in the past few games for the under-23s and he's been scoring goals.

"We've struggled to score goals so I thought his speed could help us. With Nouha injured I needed a striker on the bench and that's why I played Donovan. "He's got a chance. He's probably still behind Bright (Enobakhare), Connor (Ronan) and Morgan (Gibbs-White).

"But speed is always a danger, especially at that top end of the pitch and with the way we play it's a dangerous weapon to have.

"He's certainly got that. And the goals I've seen him score, he's been excellent. If young kids prove they can perform then I'll play them."

Dicko has missed Wolves' last two matches with a hamstring problem but could return to face Blues in Friday's West Midlands derby at Molineux.

Joe Mason, who scored in the return fixture when Wolves won 3-1 at St Andrew's, is less likely to feature. He's been sidelined for a few weeks with a hernia issue.

Lambert added: "Nouha's got the better chance than Joe. Hopefully, with him having had a good week, Nouha will be okay."

Mike Williamson played 90 minutes in that under-23 victory over Brighton as he nears another first-team comeback.

Williamson returned from more than a year on the sidelines to star in the January FA Cup win at Stoke but then was sidelined with a groin problem. Lambert said a run of games was what the 33-year-old needed.

"Mike is feeling good and hopefully he'll start to push soon," he added.

"He just needs game time. He doesn't need to prove to me what he can do or anything like that, he needs sustainable 90 minutes.

"That'll stop him picking up knocks. He can't keep coming back and breaking down.

"He needs a sustainable run, but I'm not doubting his quality or his defensive duties."