Wolves boss Gary O’Neil believes Pedro Neto could have secured a major transfer this summer without his previous injury problems.
The winger joined Chelsea for £54 million earlier this month and will return to the Premier League with the Blues at Molineux Stadium on Sunday.
Neto suffered two thigh injuries that kept him out for almost four months last season – problems that O’Neil said may have prevented him from moving to a Champions League club.
“The most important thing for him now is to be able to play week after week,” he said.
“I always had the feeling that he was unlucky with injuries, he never seemed to me to be injury-prone. That will be a question mark for him at the moment.”
“It’s not something I would worry about and that’s why I was keen to keep him and play him every week. But you can understand that it might have had an impact in the summer.
“But he can definitely play for any club in world football. His talent, work ethic and physical attributes allow him to play at any level he wants.”
Neto, who took over the No. 7 shirt from Raheem Sterling at Chelsea, made his first start in the 2-0 Conference League win over Servette on Thursday.
The 24-year-old came on as a substitute in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
His move to Chelsea came after five years at Molineux, having joined from Lazio, and he made 135 appearances for Wolves, scoring 14 goals.
O’Neil added: “He’s one of the best wingers in the world. What he can do one-on-one, his explosive pace, what he can do when he gets there, it allows him to do things that not many players can. It was an emotional farewell.”
“He enjoyed it here – the time before I was here and how well things went for him on the pitch last season.”
