Reaction given to big Huddersfield Town, Will Alves news - It's a 'real blow' for Lee Grant | OneFootball

Football League World's Huddersfield Town fan pundit has discussed the long-term injury absence that beckons for on-loan winger Will Alves

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Huddersfield Town have enjoyed a largely-positive start to the 2025/26 League One campaign, in which they have been tipped to ultimately conclude with automatic promotion back to the Championship, with the Terriers taking 19 points from their opening ten outings under the stewardship of head coach Lee Grant.

The former Burnley, Derby County and Manchester United shot-stopper was appointed back in May and oversaw significant squad upheaval during the summer months, which saw no fewer than 15 departures while 14 additions were made in a bid to build upon Huddersfield's disappointing 10th-placed finish in 2024/25.

There is a feeling at the Accu Stadium that Huddersfield are yet to fully kick into gear in League One, with the best very much still potentially to come from Grant's side. They have, however, won six league matches already and are situated inside the top-six ahead of Saturday afternoon's showdown at home to promotion rivals Stockport County.

But Huddersfield have been forced into navigating their promotion pursuit during the upcoming months without the services of Will Alves to call upon, with the on-loan Leicester City winger set — as revealed by Grant prior to the recent 1-0 win at Exeter City — for "months rather than weeks" on the sidelines after sustaining a "freak" foot injury

Alves, whose move to West Yorkshire was first revealed exclusively by Football League World, spent the second-half of the previous campaign on loan in the Championship with Cardiff City and displayed flashes of real promise in spite of the Bluebirds' relegation.

The 20-year-old wide-man has only featured three times in league action thus far, but made a notable impact on his divisional debut for the Terriers by scoring the goal which sparked Huddersfield's 3-2 comeback victory over Peterborough United just minutes after his introduction as a substitute.

Huddersfield Town, Will Alves injury news is a "real blow" for Lee Grant

Football League World asked our Huddersfield fan pundit, Graeme Rayner, to describe just how much of a blow Alves' long-term absence is going to be for Town, and whether he had been impressed with the glimpses seen of the highly-rated attacker prior to his injury.

In Graeme's view, Alves' setback represents a "real blow" for Huddersfield and Grant, with the additional knockback to fellow loanee attacker Zepiqueno Redmond — who is also poised to be out for months with a knee injury — cited too.

Both injuries leave Huddersfield somewhat short-staffed in the final third and with natural frustrations, with the duo having each arrived on loan with much promise.

"Yeah it's very frustrating, because in the brief cameos he's made, he has looked useful and quite a threat on the ball going forward in a position where we have a real need," Graeme explained of Alves.

"Then also, we just had the news that our other recent loanee — Zepiqueno Redmond — is also going to be out for a while, so we just seem to be having really bad luck in that area.

"Mikel Miller would potentially be our first-choice, he's been out for a while. Ruben Roosken has been filling in, he's been okay at times but he hasn't been brilliant and it really isn't his best position.

"So then, Alves and Redmond looked like they were going to be options there and they're now both out for a while, so we're relying on (Leo) Castledine.

"In fairness, he played there well on Saturday and scored a worldie from that position but it's not necessarily his most natural position — I see him as more of a number 10. So it's a real blow, but we do have depth in the squad and players who can fill in.

"I hope that we can ride it out and hopefully he'll be back soon — I hope the club is overestimating it with 'months'."

Will Alves can light up League One at Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield supporters have only been limited to mere glimpses of the abundant quality in Alves' possession, with the loanee winger more than capable of lighting up English football's third-tier when fully fit.

Direct and tricky with excellent ball retention, a low centre of gravity and bags of flair to boot, Alves can be a game-changer at his best and showed all of those qualities at Championship level in a struggling side earlier this year — even if the delivery wasn't always consistent, which is to be expected at his age.

Alves' decision-making and end product still require work, and it will be hoped that he can iron out the shortcomings in his game as the season toils on once a full recovery is made.

When that happens, Huddersfield could just be able to summon one of the most dangerous, and talented, attacking threats in League One.