It is literally the worst season continuing.
Wolverhampton Wanderers will face Manchester United in the Premier League round 33 for the 2024-2025 season at 10 p.m. on the 20th (Korea time). However, the news that South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan will miss the match once again due to injury has been disappointing.
Wolverhampton has been struggling greatly this season, remaining near the relegation zone throughout. Consequently, the club appointed head coach Vítor Pereira during the season, and after a 2-1 victory against Southampton on March 16, Wolverhampton has secured four consecutive wins in the league, defeating West Ham United (1-0), Ipswich Town (2-1), and Tottenham Hotspur (4-2).
The next opponent is 14th place Manchester United. If Wolverhampton manages to defeat Manchester United, they could climb to 15th place by defeating 15th place Tottenham Hotspur (37 points). However, Hwang Hee-chan, who is having the worst season this year, will miss again. He came on as a substitute in the match against Tottenham, but it has been reported that he will miss this game.
Pereira noted, "Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Matt Doherty, and Hwang Hee-chan are all attempting to return. Although it is not a serious injury, they are trying to return to help us. There is one more training session, and we will decide on their participation afterward," indicating that Hwang Hee-chan is injured.
He added, "Hwang Hee-chan has felt discomfort in his muscles since before the last game. He looked fine over the weekend, so he was put on the pitch, but he still experienced pain, and the medical team is helping with his recovery. We need to observe the situation further tomorrow."
The coach said, "This week has been a really good week. We took it a bit easy, but we kept training for the team's development. The energy has been excellent, and the interaction with the fans was fantastic. Being able to see happy smiles on people's faces is why I enjoy being with the fans on the spot. We eventually made it back home, but I enjoyed that moment."
Pereira stated, "Last week had a bit of a relaxed training atmosphere for about a day after the Ipswich match, but we immediately talked about it and cleared the atmosphere. There was no such feeling this week. The players are very focused and understand that we have a lot to do. We are an ambitious team. We will fight to the best of our ability in every match until the end."
He remarked, "Our goal is always to do our best, to fight for points in every match, and to maintain our team's identity both in attack and defense. The spirit of this team is the result of what we have created together. The players have absorbed the coach's tendencies. I always want more. I want better football, more developed play."
He also talked about Manchester United's dramatic UEFA Europa League victory. On the 18th, Manchester United faced Olympique Lyonnais in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League for the 2024-2025 season at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, winning 5-4 after leading 2-0, being overturned to 2-4, but ultimately came back to win 5-4.
Pereira remarked, "Old Trafford was truly fantastic. Of course, the traffic was the worst. Still, it was a perfect match to the extent that I thought 'this is football.' It was an emotional game, and I love this kind of thing," adding, "It was a huge victory, and such wins bring confidence. The Manchester United we will face will be a much more confident team. But as I've said from the beginning, what matters is not Manchester United, but us."
Hwang Hee-chan has not been able to contribute properly to the team's upward momentum. Having already fallen to a bench member and being evaluated as the number one transfer target due to performance falling short compared to other starting players, he now faces an uncertain situation in the team with the added injury.
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