Wolves hopeful that Pedro Neto will return before the end of the year after being stretchered off against Newcastle with hamstring injury.

Wolves are hopeful Pedro Neto will be back in action before the end of the year after their star man damaged a hamstring in the draw with Newcastle.

Neto left the field on a stretcher after sustaining the injury in the closing stages and his absence is a huge blow for Wolves. The Portuguese winger has registered seven assists in the league this term, more than any other player.

The 23-year-old tweeted that he would be out for ‘a couple of weeks’ but he is expected to be sidelined for longer than that, though Wolves are cautiously optimistic that the damage is not as bad as first feared.

It is possible Neto could be out of action for about six weeks, which would give him an outside chance of returning for Wolves’ Christmas and New Year programme.

Neto has already suffered two serious knee injuries but was playing some of the best football of his career under Gary O’Neil, who replaced Julen Lopetegui as Wolves boss just days before the start of the season.

After the Newcastle game, O’Neil said: ‘We are hopeful that Pedro won’t be missing for long. He’s been a big part of what we’ve managed to do so far, but for however long he’s out for, the group is ready to make sure we keep producing performances and we keep picking up points.

‘He was moving around in the dressing room. Obviously hamstring injuries have very different levels of severity, so we’re hoping it’s on the smaller side.’