Nuno not worried Armenia trip will hurt Wolves in Premier League opener

Nuno Espirito Santo dismissed fears Wolves’ mammoth Europa League trip will hurt them in the Premier League.

Wolves face FC Pyunik of Armenia in their third round qualifying match on Thursday.

The squad fly out to Yerevan on Wednesday afternoon and will come straight back after the game – a round trip of 6,370 miles.

The match is just 72 hours before their opening Premier League game of the season at Leicester on Sunday.

Nuno said: “It’s the reality, it’s very far but it’s more important to prepare well.

“We’re going to fly and try in the flight there and the return to make this time useful, trying to rush the recovery of the players.

“It’s a challenge and we’ll embrace it by doing our best. We are not worried, we are ready to do it. It’s what we do.

“You have to decide game-by-game, play the game, think about the rest and then we’ll think about Leicester.

“We are very proud because achieving what we did last season was huge for the club. As a group of professionals it is a challenge and we want to embrace it.

“Pyunik did well in the previous round, we have been analysing them and we expect it to be tough. In football there are no favourites, we have to play the game.”

The transfer window closes on Thursday while Nuno and the squad are in eastern Europe and the manager refused to rule out any late signings.

He added: “The reality is the market is still open so let’s see. When it’s closed and finished, let’s talk about it.”

Matt Doherty will travel after recovering from a knee injury while new striker Patrick Cutrone, who joined from AC Milan last week, and Real Madrid loanee Jesus Vallejo could make their debuts.

Morgan Gibbs-White is a doubt after suffering minor ligament damage in the 4-1 win second-leg win at Crusaders last week but Raul Jimenez is fit after a foot knock.