Forward thinking key to the Wolves squad

Boss Kenny Jackett's 'forward-thinking' mentality has played a key role in a lack of injuries to the Wolves squad, the club's chief physio believes.

Wolves' injury record has improved in recent seasons, with an average availability rate of 95 per cent of players per game in 2014-15.

Head of medical Phil Hayward has implemented a range of pre-game regimes in a bid to prevent injuries.

And he revealed that less is more when it comes to training, with Jackett happy for players to spend fewer minutes on the training pitch to allow for extra conditioning work.

Hayward has been given freedom to bring in his own ideas and added: "Kenny's been great and understands the players' need time to do their physical work with us.

"It probably means he's got more players available to him at the weekend.

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"He gets a little bit less time with them on the training field by a few minutes but, as a result of that, there's an improvement in availability.

"He's very forward thinking in that respect and works very well with us. Importantly, he makes sure he's aligned with us to give the same message to the players."

Danny Batth is Wolves' only current injury concern, as he makes a comeback from a stress fracture to his left foot.

Razak Boukari and Tommy Rowe have also been in over the summer, building up fitness levels ahead of the new campaign.

Hayward, who has been at Wolves for seven years, welcomed the club's recent injury record, which he felt had played its part in Wolves' success in the past two years.

And he reckons the club's youngsters deserve praise for 'buying into' modern methods, which hasn't been the case in the past.

He said: "A lot of it is down to the injury prevention work we do before training every single day.

"We feel that there's things you can address just before training or a game which influence injuries and reduce risks.

"A big chunk of it is that the players have bought into it. If you have an ageing squad who've been in the Premier League a few years like we had a few years ago, they might not be that interested.

"But we've been able to put these strategies in place. We've got a really young, keen group who understand what we're trying to do."