Injured Kightly will sit it out as Wolves go up against Blues

Nov 25 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MICHAEL Kightly will have to play a waiting game after Mick McCarthy admitted Wolves’ golden boy of recent seasons is not yet up to the pace of the Premier League.

The 23-year-old played 90 minutes for the reserves against Fulham at Molineux last night with McCarthy keen to build up his energy levels following six months on the sidelines from March.

Kightly made three successive league starts against Everton, Villa and Stoke helping Wolves to three good results but he was back on the bench against Arsenal and Chelsea.

“He needs games, nothing else,” McCarthy said. “His hip and his toe are all right but, I have to be honest, he’s still got a niggle in his knees.

“They get sore at times and they have been bothering him a little bit, but it’s not a major concern and won’t stop him playing.”

McCarthy will leave Kightly out of his side to face Blues and is unlikely to start him against Bolton.

“I would love to think he could have an impact in these two home games we’ve got now,” McCarthy said.

“But I still don’t think he’s ready for that yet.

“He’s not up to the pace of the Premier League yet.

“I put him on in the second half against Chelsea really just to give him a game and see him in action. But myself and he had a discussion on Monday and he agrees with me and feels the same as I do about it. He needs games.”

McCarthy sent out a strong reserves last night with a cluster of names given the chance to claim a first-team shirt.

Michael Mancienne, George Elokobi, Nenad Milijas, Stefan Maierhofer, Andy Keogh and Matt Hill all played 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat.

McCarthy explained: “I put a strong team out but it wasn’t to get points in the reserves league, that’s for sure. We had plenty of players who needed to play.

“Michael Mancienne had two games with the England Under-21s and Nenad Milijas had had two internationals, but they needed to play with their team-mates here.

“George Elokobi, Matt Hill, Stephen Ward, Michael Kightly, Stefan Maierhofer and Andy Keogh all needed to play because they hadn’t played football together as a team for a while. They needed to get back playing for us because I want them in contention.

‘‘Watching them train is fine, but they need to play in matches.”

WOLVES RESERVES: Hahnemann, Foley, Elokobi Mancienne, Hill, Rooney, Kightly, Milijas, Maierhofer, Keogh, Ward (Dunleavy, 63).