Rookie Wolves left-back Scott Malone has set himself a two-month deadline to impress manager Mick McCarthy as he seeks a loan move.

The England under-19 international believes he is ready for first team football and he wants a chance to impress before Stephen Ward regains full fitness. Ward, who started as first-choice left-back, is hoping to be fit by Christmas after a knee operation. Malone, fromRowley Regis, is behind George Elokobi, Matt Hill and George Friend, who is on loan at Southend, in the Molineux pecking order.

“I want to go out to play in the Championship or League One,” said the 18-year-old. “Whoever comes in for me, I hope Wolves let me go out and play.

“There are some decent teams in League One such as Charlton, Leeds, Norwich and Southampton and Danny Batth’s doing well at Colchester so there are plenty of teams to go to.

“It’s good to be talked about. I think I’m third choice left-back at the moment behind George Elokobi and Matt Hill but Stephen Ward is coming back from injury in a couple of months.

“So I’ve got to do what I can over the next couple of months to put myself in the gaffer’s mind before Wardy comes back. “It’s all about first chances and I need that first chance now.”

Malone tries to improve his own game by putting in extra hours at Compton after training.

“I go out and work after training every day,” he said.

“I’m trying to improve because whatever you can add to your game is only going to help you. I want to become a set-piece specialist and the more I practice, the better I can become.”

Meanwhile, striker Chris Iwelumo has made a quicker return to full fitness – by running as if he was in space.

The Scotland international, who is fit after recovering from a broken bone in his foot, has used a state-of-the-art piece of equipment called a G-Trainer “anti-gravity” treadmill.

Pioneered by company Alter-G, who have leased it to the club, the device has now been approved as a medical device by the FDA, Food and Drugs Administration, a United States-based government agency.

The device uses a specialised air pressure regulation system to reduce the user’s body weight by up to 80 per cent.