Despite the disappointment of losing 4-2 against Crystal Palace, Wolves can take a positive from the game following Jorgen Strand Larsen’s return to the starting XI.
Strand Larsen’s absence has hurt Wolves in recent weeks, with the Molineux attack losing a dimension during the Norwegian’s injury lay-off.
With a goal and an assist on the night, it’s safe to say the striker made his mark, with Strand Larsen breaking Raul Jimenez’s record of goals scored in a debut season.
But despite impressing on his Wolves return, Strand Larsen has admitted he is still not back to his best.
Photo by Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Jorgen Strand Larsen speaks on injury struggles
Wolves are targeting competition for Strand Larsen this summer, something that will no doubt spur the Norwegian to get back fully fit and firing.
With that being said, the striker has since admitted he is still struggling with injury and had to be forced off against Palace.
Speaking to the Wolves website post-match, Strand Larsen said:
“It was nice to be back, of course, as I’ve been struggling a little bit lately, so couldn’t finish the whole game, unfortunately.
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“I was hoping to stay out as I wanted to score another and get us back into the game, but I had to listen to my body today.
“It’s always nice to play in the starting 11 for Wolverhampton and I’m really proud of that, but I need to take care of my body first.”
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Strand Larsen criticises Crystal Palace performance
Strand Larsen’s importance to Vitor Pereira was on full display at Selhurst Park, with the 25-year-old one of the very few Wolves players to impress on the night.
When speaking on his side’s performance, the striker admitted Wolves simply weren’t at the races.
“It feels like we didn’t really show up today. For some parts of the game we were the better team, but in the end we lost, and it was deserved.
“That’s what my feelings are right now, and we’re not proud of our performance.
“You can’t always play perfect, but we need to learn from what we’ve done and I think we made some mistakes when we conceded the goals, but that can happen, and we tried to come back in the game, but they’re good at counterattacks and scored from them.”