Record signing Raul Jimenez has been protecting a fractured left wrist to keep Wolves’ Europa League hopes alive.
The £32million forward picked up the injury during a 1-1 draw at Chelsea in March and has played on, with heavy strapping, without undergoing an operation.
Ahead of Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg against Torino, boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “He has a problem. Did he break it? Yes.
“Do you think it was for fashion, you think he enjoys using (the strapping)? He needs it, for protection.
“He has to protect himself if there is a problem there.”
Jimenez’s efforts are all the more impressive given he only had two weeks off in the summer following Mexico’s Gold Cup triumph.
His injury has not stopped him hitting six goals in eight games this term after top-scoring with 17 while on loan from Benfica last season.
He has helped fire Wolves to the brink of the Europa League group stage, netting in the 3-2 first-leg win in Italy last week.
They host the Serie A side at Molineux on Thursday, with the winners of the tie going into Friday’s group-stage draw.
Jimenez also converted a stoppage-time penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw with Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday and maintain Wolves’ unbeaten start to the campaign.
Nuno said: “He’s doing well, he’s helping the team and we know with heavy legs he still goes. This is the spirit with all the players.
“It’s the philosophy we tried to embrace since day one. The way we play to the competition is the most important thing. What they want is to play and put everything we do here on the pitch.”
But Nuno wants his men to improve their game management after Torino gave themselves hope last week through Andrea Belotti’s 89th-minute penalty.
“In the last minutes we lost control of the game,” he added. “This is something we have to improve.
“It’s to do with what your opponents make you do. It’s not just about us – we have to adapt.”
