Kightly set for starting role

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy today hinted at giving Michael Kightly his first start for five months in the must-win against Cardiff tomorrow – as Michael Gray and Dave Edwards look set to miss out.

Kightly made his senior comeback from ankle surgery in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Ipswich as a half-time substitute.

Edwards was forced off after just 18 minutes of the game with a knee injury, while Gray injured his shin.

"Mickey Gray and Dave Edwards are both doubts," said McCarthy. "Dave has injured his knee. It's going to be left for a couple of days and we'll assess it.

"We can't find any swelling, so that's a good thing, but he's been told to leave it for two or three days. Let's hope it's just a knock.

"Mickey got a kick on his shin after he went into a tackle. I thought he was starting to toil a bit.

"He got kicked and he said he was OK. But he had ice on it and it wasn't. Maybe we could have left it 10 minutes but he wasn't right and it made my decision."

Unlucky Edwards was only making his comeback after missing six games with a groin injury, while Gray had been in improved form since his switch to midfield, scoring twice in seven games.

But McCarthy was much more upbeat about Kightly, who soon got into his stride after replacing Gray as Wolves pressed in the second half.

"'Kites' got through his 45 minutes," said the boss. "For 10 minutes he was just getting his legs and lungs back, but he did really well.

"We'll see how he is but he looks OK and he said so. We might need some fresh legs in the team.

"It's nice to have him back fit and have that option, whether he's a starter of a substitute. The same as Stephen Ward, he's fit and available."

Kightly's last start for Wolves came on November 25 last year in the goalless draw against Albion at The Hawthorns. He had a bone spur removed from his ankle on February 29.