NUNO: I FEEL FOR CONOR OVER COVID

NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO has revealed how he consoled Conor Coady after his dreams of creating an appearance record were dashed by Covid-19.

The Wolves boss was a shoulder to cry on for his skipper after he was forced to pull out of England’s squad – and relinquish a chance to become a piece of Molineux folklore.

The Portuguese changed his rearguard after Coady could not be part of the pre-match preparations ahead of last week’s game against Southampton.

Until then, the 27-year-old had played in all of Wolves’ 84 matches since their return to the top-flight. If the previous Championship season is taken into account, he was just seven short of keeper Phil Parkes’ record of 127 successive appearances.

Among outfield players in the Premier League, only Chelsea’s

Wayne Bridge and Everton’s Leighton Baines have longer unbroken spells and Nuno said that Coady, who was forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with a person who later tested positive for the illness, was distressed at missing out.

He said: “I spoke with him. Conor was really upset. He was upset because he felt he could compete well. He was upset because he was not able to be on the pitch to help the team. And he was upset because he was a competitor.

“It was tough news to have, the moment I was informed he had to come away from the England squad – that was a bad moment.

Fellow defender Max Kilman said: “Conor’s a great leader and a great captain. His professionalism as a leader, we need that.”