Nuno urges Wolves injury victim Meritan Shabani to stay strong

The 20-year-old’s senior gold and black bow came to an abrupt halt, pulling up in agony minutes after coming on as a substitute in the eventual Carabao Cup triumph on penalties over Reading.

Shabani, who had put in some impressive performances for the under-23s after joining on a three-year deal from Bayern Munich in the summer, could be heard shrieking with pain as he clutched his right knee on Wednesday night.

And now the German is having to use crutches, while wearing a leg brace, before undergoing an operation that is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo is ‘very sad’ for the youngster, but is confident he will receive the utmost support from the club’s renowned medical department.

“You have to be strong and trust in the people are taking care of you,” said Nuno, when asked of his advice to Shabani.

“It doesn’t mean you have to stop – you can take this moment to prepare other things such as upper body, become stronger.

“You have to be patient, trust in our fantastic medical department.

“It was a tough blow for him and for us and the club because when you bring a player from the under-23s into the first team, and he’s showing things, then you want to give him this chance, so he can have show what he can do.”

Shabani was not alone in being stretchered off against the Royals either.

Bruno Jordao, who opened the scoring and looked bright in the first half on what was his debut too, was forced off with an ankle injury.

The Portuguese initially tried to carry on but went off in the 42nd minute, and sustained ligament damage.

He should not be on the sidelines for as long as Shabani, but such injuries tend ro rule players out for several weeks.

“It’s a big blow for him and for Jordao also, and for us,” said Nuno.

“It’s very sad when you have players who get injured on the pitch. Very sad.

“And the way it happened as well. But things happen and you have to go on.”

Shabani’s injury was especially cruel as the attacker only touched the ball a few times before going down in an off-the-ball incident.

Jordao, at least, had a debut goal to celebrate amid a busy showing in the middle of the park.

On his debut display, Nuno added: “He was playing good, not only this game but the previous games in the under-23s.

“We know that he came late like (Jesus) Vallejo, (Pedro) Neto and (Patrick) Cutrone, so it’s about preparing them for what is our reality. We play Thursday, Sunday every week.

“We’ve played 13 games already, so all the players are important.”

This is the first time Wolves have had a player pick up a major injury during Nuno’s tenure.

Shabani played twice for Bayern Munich’s first team before signing for Wolves.

Meanwhile, former Wolves midfielder Silas has been named as the new boss of Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon. He was sacked by Belenenses SAD earlier this month.