Wolves defender Ki-Jana Hoever appeared to be distraught as he left the field through injury in the first half of the defeat against Crystal Palace, according to Tim Spiers. 

The lowdown

The young Dutchman made just his fourth league start of the season on Saturday but lasted only 25 minutes before he was forced off through injury.

Wolves were already without one of their right wing-back options in Nelson Semedo, who isn't currently expected to be back until the middle of April (via Premier Injuries). Jonny Otto is capable of playing there but is naturally a left-sided defender.

The latest

With Hoever about to be substituted for Jonny, The Athletic's Wolves correspondent Spiers took to Twitter to issue a worrying assessment.

He observed: "Hoever limping off, looks devastated. Jonny being called."

The verdict

Bruno Lage isn't just frustrated with the timing of this particular injury. He said after the match that Hoever suffered the hamstring strain 'because he is not prepared' and 'doesn't work with the same intensity' as some of his team-mates in training.

Spiers interpreted this as blaming the 20-year-old 'for getting injured', and after such a stinging rebuke, you have to wonder how severe the repercussions will be for Hoever, not just over his involvement this season but also in terms of his Wolves career as a whole.

In other news, Wolves had already suffered this injury blow