Wolves replace Lemina as captain after row on court

Wolves have stripped midfielder Mario Lemina of the captaincy following his altercation on the pitch at the end of Monday night’s defeat at West Ham.

Lemina, 31, clashed with Jarrod Bowen as the pair went to shake hands as tempers boiled over after West Ham’s 2-1 win at the London Stadium.

Lemina apologized earlier in the week, but boss Gary O’Neil revealed Nelson Semedo would take the arm forward, starting with Saturday’s clash with Ipswich.

O’Neil said in his pre-match press conference: “Discussions with Mario were good. We get on very, very well.

“He’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do here and we have a lot of respect for each other. Sometimes you can come out of these discussions in a really good place and I think we did.

“I have a lot of respect for Mario and what he can still do for us.

“When we get the best out of him on the pitch, his level is very high and he will still play an important role for us, which he is very keen to do.

“He will still be around the senior group that leads the team, but at this point we think it’s better for Nelson to lead the group.

“The most important thing is to get the best out of everyone – get the best out of Mario Lemina week in and week out, the same for Nelson and the rest of the group.

“We dealt with it earlier in the week and since then the focus has been purely on Ipswich, Mario is ready, Nelson is ready and the rest of the players are ready.”

Joao Gomes will miss the clash through suspension, while Jose Sa and Pablo Sarabia remain sidelined along with long-term absentees Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enzo Gonzalez and Bouba Traore.