YOU’RE DOING FABIO

Wolves boss Lage tells £35m striker: You have beaten Covid. Keep calm and carry on... you will find your form

FABIO SILVA beat Covid and Manchester United – and now he’s been told to beat a path into Bruno Lage’s Wolves team.

The 19-year-old striker cost the Molineux club £35million when he joined from Porto last season, but has found life difficult since arriving in the Black Country.

He managed four goals in his debut Premier League campaign, but hasn’t yet hit the net once this time out – although he has been almost exclusively used from the substitutes’ bench. A nasty bout of Covid hasn’t helped either, but he was thrown into battle at Old Trafford on Monday night as Wolves ended a 41-year wait for victory at the Theatre of Dreams.

And manager Lage said that as long as Silva carries on working hard, his chance will come.

The Wolves boss said: “I’m very happy with Fabio. When the team warmedup at Old Trafford, I sat next to him and said, ‘You understand everything about how we work. You know how to press… you know everything’.

“He stayed at home for 15 days with Covid, so I asked him how long he thought he could play for.

“He told me 20 to 25 minutes – in the end, I think he had 10 or 12, and he did well. Every moment on the pitch is a chance for him to show me things. Not just in games but also in training – and he’s doing that.

“That’s all you can ask.” Wolves should be heartened by Leicester’s FA Cup triumph last term.

As four-time winners and four-time runners-up, the club has an illustrious history in the competition. But it is 62 years since the pot was last lifted by a Wolves captain.

Lage reckons Sheffield United are a potential banana skin, and says if his Premier League side are not working at full capacity, a long and difficult afternoon awaits.

He added: “I will put out the best team I can.

“We’re going with a strong ambition to win because Sheffield United is a strong opponent.

“I worked in the Championship for almost three years with Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea, and sometimes you cannot see the difference between the leagues.

“I have good memories of working with Carlos Carvalhal at both clubs.

“We beat Arsenal in the League Cup at Wednesday – and when it’s one game over 90 minutes and teams hit you with everything, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“Sheffield United will come with a big ambition too. We will need a strong mentality at home, and with the help of our fans we can continue in the competition.”

TODAY’S FA Cup tie against Premier League opposition will be a welcome distraction for League One Charlton – as they prepare for fixture chaos in the second half of the season.

And Johnnie Jackson, the club’s manager – who was handed the role after a storming start as caretaker – fears for his players after a Covid-hit December has left the Addicks facing a scheduling nightmare between now and May.

Charlton were hit hard over the Christmas period, with their matches against AFC Wimbledon and Gillingham being postponed.

Having made progress in the Football League Trophy against MK Dons last week, Jackson’s men are currently fighting on three fronts.

He said: “We were disappointed that the games were off.

“We were in a good place and it’s put a stop to a little bit of the flow that