Michael Gray is hoping for a quick return to first-team action despite being ruled out of Saturday's clash with Charlton at Molineux.

The experienced defender will almost certainly miss the trip to Cardiff next Wednesday as well but hopes the hamstring injury he suffered against Coventry 11 days ago will not delay his availability much beyond that.

"The one consolation for me is that, with the international break, I won't have missed any games in the first fortnight," he said.

"But I have no chance for this Saturday and I'm not due to step up my training until after the Cardiff match next week.

"The recovery has been very good so far, though, and I'm doing some light running and all the other exercises without any problem."

Michael went off in the first half of the victory over the Sky Blues after hurting his right hamstring as he went into a brave challenge.

Now he hopes the initial fears of an absence of up to six weeks prove unfounded and he is back challenging for a place sooner rather than later.

"You could see a tear on the scans but I've been speaking regularly to the physio and I'm pleased with my progress. I've generally not had a lot of hamstring trouble in my career but, like all players, I have experience of injuries and hope that will help my comeback."

Neill Collins went on for Michael against Coventry and headed the dramatic last-gasp winner.