Injury expert Ben Dinnery has delivered his verdict on the Wolverhampton Wanderers' transfer plans after the injury suffered by Chiquinho.

The lowdown: Cruel loss

This comes after Chiquinho picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a 3-0 behind-closed-doors friendly win over Burnley last Saturday at the Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

The 22-year-old winger scored in the match before being involved in a collision that caused the Portugal youth international to require surgery and face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Having completed the first summer signing in the shape of Nathan Collins from Burnley, one well-informed onlooker has suggested that Chiquinho's injury could force Bruno Lage to enter the market once again...

The latest: 'Huge blow'

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery - who runs the Premier Injuries site and contributes for Sky Sports - has claimed that Wolves may need a replacement for the one-cap Portugal Under 21 starlet for the entire upcoming season.

He said: “This will really smart for them. He is a player with a big reputation and they expect big things from him in the upcoming season. Potentially, this may alter any transfer plans that they had.

“As we know with ACL injuries, we’re looking at a minimum of six or seven months, but that can extend to nine or ten months. That’s if things go really, really well in that rehab and recovery process.

“So, they are losing a player in July who may not play again for the whole of the season. That’s a huge blow for them.”

The verdict: Signing needed

Signed from Portuguese top-flight outfit Estoril in January, Chiquinho provided three assists in eight Premier League outings for the Old Gold to add to the four goals and six assists yielded prior to making the switch to Molineux.

The impact made by the dynamic wide-man was clear for all to see and his lengthy absence leaves Lage with only Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and an out-of-favour Adama Traore to call upon in the wide areas heading into the 2022/23 campaign after Francisco Trincao returned to Barcelona before signing for Sporting CP.

Not replacing Chiquinho is therefore a non-starter as at least one addition is required for a depleted squad, and Fosun should have no issues sanctioning any moves given the lack of activity in terms of incomings so far and the potential financial windfall from the sales of Morgan Gibbs-White and Ruben Neves on the horizon.