Banished Premier League defender who ‘swung an elbow’ could be forgiven for ‘mistake’ | OneFootball

Wolves defender Jonny

Head coach Gary O’Neil has hinted that Jonny could still have a future with Wolves, despite the disciplinary action taken against him.

Jonny, who joined from Atletico Madrid for £18million in 2019 after an initial loan spell, has been disciplined following a training ground incident and will not return to the first-team set-up until the end of January.

According to The Athletic: ‘Wolves defender Jonny Otto swung an elbow towards under-21s forward Tawanda Chirewa and damaged items in the players’ room in the incident that led to him being exiled from the first team.

‘The former Spain international also spat at a member of the coaching staff who tried to drag him away from the clash with Chirewa during a training session at Compton Park.’

But O’Neil took the opportunity to praise the defender’s contribution to the club when asked about the situation in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham.

“I don’t want to go into details of what did and didn’t happen and Jonny has had a fantastic time at this football club,” O’Neil said in quotes reported by the Express and Star.

“That can still continue. Somebody making a mistake definitely shouldn’t define what you’ve been to the football club.

“I’ve made a million mistakes, I’m sure we all have. Jonny will have his thoughts on the situation. You make a mistake, we deal with the mistake and everybody moves on. That’s where we are.

“It’s been dealt with. Jonny is still a fantastic player for the football club and has been involved in some incredible moments here. Some fantastic seasons.

“Things happen in football, they’re dealt with and we move on. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

Asked if Jonny would leave Molineux in January, O’Neil said: “The statement from the club told you everything at the moment really. He’s going to stay out of our group until (the end of) January and then we’ll see where everything is.

“There’s no further update or more detail I can add to that. Jonny will continue to work and play with the under-21s until then.”

O’Neil hopes Rayan Ait-Nouri will be available to face the Hammers after he missed the last three games with an ankle injury, while Pedro Neto could return for the Christmas Eve fixture with Chelsea following a hamstring strain.