Doherty must prove his fitness

Matt Doherty faces a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of Wolves' clash with Coventry at Molineux on Saturday.

The full-back sustained a slight groin strain while representing the Republic of Ireland's Under-21 side in their goalless draw against Romania last Friday. And, having made an enforced early return to the Black Country, Doherty is now battling to be fit to face the Sky Blues along with Wanderers skipper Sam Ricketts, who is looking to overcome a knee problem which forced him to withdraw from Wales' senior squad altogether. Wanderers head coach Kenny Jackett told the club's official website: "Doherty's come back early from international duty with a groin injury. "We don't know how long he's going to be out for and we're hopeful he'll be okay for the weekend, but we'll see. "It depends on how the week goes for him, but he'll be very close for the weekend anyway as to whether he's fit or not. "It's not anything major but around about a week is usual for this type of injury. "He played the first game and reported the groin problem and the Irish FA have sent him back to have treatment here and assess it. "He did it in the game. We hope he's got enough time to recover. He's got a chance for the weekend but it's going to be very close." Meanwhile, a strong Wolves side beat Notts County 4-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the club's Compton training ground on Tuesday afternoon. Bakary Sako opened the scoring early on during a 45-minute run-out, with the fit-again French winger keen to focus on his football after the Nottingham Forest transfer saga and sickness bug which dominated headlines prior to the international break. Jake Cassidy also bagged a brace for Wanderers while Zeli Ismail chipped in with a penalty.