Mick McCarthy today assured Michael Kightly and Wayne Hennessey they still have major parts to play for Wolves this season.

Kightly has been ruled out for eight weeks after undergoing ankle surgery yesterday.

Hennessey was taken out of the firing line for Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against Birmingham as Marcus Hahnemann was drafted in for his first Premier League appearance for the club after the four-goal defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea.

Both players were major stars of the Championship title-winning side and boss McCarthy believes there is plenty of time for them both to have an impact this season.

Kightly suffered his latest injury setback during the defeat to Blues.

“Michael wants to get his Premier League campaign up and running, but it’s not going to happen for another two months,” said the boss.

“He was very down the day he found out but he was back at it the following day – he was chirpy and he’ll be OK.

“He’s really had so much bad luck. I think he must have run over an albatross laying eggs and he’s ‘ragged’ the nest as well.

Breather

“It’s affected us as well because even in his cameo appearance on Sunday, he looked a threat.

“He looked like he could change things and that was the first time this season that he’d felt half decent and he got injured again.”

McCarthy believes Welsh international Hennessey needed to have a breather for his own good.

“He needed to come out of the team but Wayne’s still a top keeper and I have no doubts he’ll bounce back,” he said.

“He’d been involved in the two games when we’d been beaten heavily so it was absolutely right for him to come out, but I’m not blaming him for that at all.

“But when you get eight put past you it does knock you a bit, as we’ve seen from the rest of the players.”