Express & Star

Brentford v Wolves: Who's out and who's a doubt

As Wolves prepare for the FA Cup fixture with Brentford, Gary O'Neil has fewer injuries to contend with.

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However, other reasons mean he is short of a number of players heading into tomorrow's game.

Mario Lemina - 0% chance

After the sad death of his father, Lemina was given compassionate leave and did not play in the win over Everton.

Ahead of the trip to London, O'Neil confirmed the midfielder is still in France with his family and will not play.

O'Neil said: "Mario is still with his family. I don't want to speak too much for Mario because things can change with how he feels, but when I spoke to him he was still dealing with a lot of family stuff.

"Nothing has really changed on that front. He has my full support and knows he can call me or message me at any time. I check in on him.

"I'm also keen to make sure he gets his space and time to do what he needs to do. After this game tomorrow we have a little break before Brighton, so we're hopeful that firstly Mario and his family get themselves into a position where they're ready to move forward with things.

"Then hopefully Mario will be back for Brighton, because he is a hugely important player to us."

Wolves have also been in talks to sign Lemina's brother Noha Lemina from Paris Saint-Germain, on a loan deal with an option to buy.

But O'Neil remained coy when asked about the subject.

He said: "I won't comment on anybody else's players, whether that be Mario's brother or Lionel Messi on loan from the MLS. I'll focus on Brentford."

Hwang Hee-chan - 0% chance

Wolves' top goalscorer has now departed with South Korea for the Asia Cup and will not be available until the end of January at the very earliest.

If South Korea do well in the competition, which they are expected to, he could be out for Wolves until mid-February.

Rayan Ait-Nouri - 0% chance

In-form Ait-Nouri is also unavailable as he is now with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Algeria are also expected to do well and could go far in the competition, which would see him miss the same amount of Wolves action as Hwang.

Boubacar Traore - 0% chance

The midfielder has been called up to the Mali squad for the Africa Cup of Nations and cannot be selected by Wolves in January.

Jonny Castro Otto - 0% chance

After a training ground incident, Jonny has been banned from the Wolves first team group until the end of January. It is hoped he will get a move away this month.