In their first game without the suspended Matheus Cunha last weekend, Wolves picked up a 1-1 draw against Everton.
Marshall Munetsi’s first goal for Wolves cancelled out Jack Harrison’s strike as Vitor Pereira’s men were made to settle for a point.
The clash at Molineux saw many stars flourish, including midfielder Andre, who was labelled the best number six in the Premier League by Dave Edwards after his sensational showing against the Toffees.
Edwards also felt Emmanuel Agbadou’s return made a ‘huge difference’ as the Ivorian commanded his defence superbly.
But whilst some players earned plaudits for their displays, forward Jorgen Strand Larsen struggled, and Pereira has now explained the reason why.
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
Jorgen Strand Larsen played with an injury against Everton
Strand Larsen started up front for Wolves with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi deployed just in behind the Norwegian.
Unfortunately, the towering centre-forward had a tough night against the hulking presence of Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski, who got the better of the 25-year-old physically.
However, whilst sections of the fanbase criticised him for his display, Pereira has revealed that Strand Larsen was playing with a broken hand, which made it difficult for him to fend off opposition players due to pain.
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“I must say something to defend Larsen,” Pereira said via the E&S. “Two days before the match he broke his hand – a bone in his hand. He played with protection.
“For a striker, if you don’t have your hands to play, it’s a big problem. We played with him and he tried his best.
Luckily, Pereira confirmed that he’s no longer in pain with his hand and he will be ready to start against Southampton.
“Now, he’s better because he doesn’t feel too much pain. In the game he felt the pain and his focus was on the fracture, not (the game).
“He’s been training with the protection and doesn’t feel the pain, so now he can help us. But we cannot crucify the player because he tried to help with this problem.”
Strand Larsen needs to end his goal drought
A lot of players have benefitted from the arrival of Pereira while Strand Larsen has seen his form take a nosedive since December.
The Norwegian international has scored just once in 10 appearances under the Portuguese – the 2-2 draw against Tottenham – and hasn’t found the net in seven matches.
Admittedly, some of his form has been blighted by injury, but generally, the Celta Vigo loanee has failed to lead the line efficiently.
That being said, Strand Larsen perhaps won’t get a better chance to end his goal drought this season as Southampton have conceded the division’s most number of goals (68) and have lost 23 of their 28 matches this term.