Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed that Ivan Cavaleiro missed Saturday's Premier League opener with Everton due to injury.
Cavaleiro has been linked with a move away from Molineux before the end of August, and the Portuguese was absent as Wolves earned a 2-2 draw with the Toffees on Saturday evening.
However, Nuno has insisted that the attacker was only left out of the squad due to the need to rest a fitness issue which he picked up during pre-season.
Nuno is quoted by the Express & Star as saying: "He's injured. He had a problem in a training session a couple of weeks ago.
"Against Stoke he tried to manage his time. Last week against Villarreal he managed his time. So we're taking care of Ivan on those terms.
"We have to manage his time because he's not totally 100% fit. That's one of the reasons why he wasn't available. He needs to rest. First, he needs to feel free of pain, then we can start training him again."
Wolves are next in action when they travel to the East Midlands to face Leicester City on Saturday.