Michael Kightly missed much of last season with an ankle injury

Matt Jarvis will be out for at least two months after tearing his hamstring in Wolves' nightmare 3-0 home defeat by Reading on Tuesday night.

The Championship table-toppers will also face a month without fellow winger Michael Kightly, who also damaged his hamstring, but less severely.

Already without captain Jody Craddock, boss Mick McCarthy admits next week's international break is now well timed.

"We're desperate to get a few players recovered," McCarthy told BBC WM.

"Jarvo's done his hamstring, and so has Kights, which is an indication of how hard they work.

"Andy Keogh was struggling with a knee in the glutes - the cheek of his backside and lower back - and Stephen Ward has got damaged ribs."

Would I have taken 22 points after nine games? Damn right I would Mick McCarthy

Ward, caught in the chest by an accidental collision with captain Karl Henry's studs, is expected to be fit for Wolves' first visit to the Liberty Stadium.

But while losing Jarvis and Kightly on the same night was a massive double blow, given their inspirational form this season, McCarthy refused to be downcast.

And, with his team still two points clear at the top of the Championship, McCarthy admits that he would not swap with any of his rival managers.

"Would I have taken 22 points after nine games? Damn right I would," he said.

"Would I have taken the way we've played and how we've started? We've all been delighted and really proud of it, and justifiably so."