Wolves coaches and players make six-figure donation to Wolverhampton NHS Trust

The organisation which runs New Cross Hospital is one of the UK health trusts worst-affected by Covid-19, with NHS figures released on Thursday showing 120 coronavirus patients have died there since the pandemic began.

The donation will aid New Cross, West Park Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital in the fight against coronavirus and "help part-fund and equip" new wards being built at New Cross.

Two new wards are being built on a former staff car park to help New Cross cope with coronavirus cases and are expected to open next month.

Like others, the hospital has also expanded intensive care capacity in order to handle Covid-19 patients.

All of Wolves' players have also made a collective donation to the Players Together fund for the NHS, and skipper Conor Coady said the squad were determined to show their gratitude – both locally and nationally.

"All of us in the squad, the boss and the staff wanted to do something significant to help Wolverhampton and the people of this city at what is a really difficult and challenging time for all of us," said Coady.

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"We receive so much support from the people of Wolverhampton week-in-week-out at Molineux, at grounds up and down the country and even when we meet people out and about, and for us this is the least we could do to repay that support.

“We know the club has been doing a lot of fantastic work to support the city since the outbreak, and we felt we wanted to add to that as a team and show how grateful we are to the NHS for everything they do, locally and nationally."

Since the outbreak, Wolves owners Fosun and the Wolves Foundation have been in regular contact with the trust and Wolverhampton Council.

And Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, added: "We are extremely grateful for this generous donation from the players of Wolverhampton Wanderers. It will help support our staff and patients during the pandemic and beyond.

“The money will go towards buying essential equipment for our new wards that are currently being built. This investment will make a huge difference to us, and our patients.

“We are so grateful for all the support we have received from the community during this extremely difficult time.”