Marquee Signings In Molineux Catch-Up

Geoff Thomas has used his latest Molineux return to have another catch-up with David Kelly – but might hesitate to engage him in the spectacular fund-raising events for which he has become renowned.

It’s not long since the pair were together at a Cure Leukaemia charity dinner in Solihull at which Don Goodman and Lee Hendrie were also in attendance.

But the chat they had in the media room at Wolves’ game against Crystal Palace on Saturday contained news of a mishap the striker had suffered in the meantime.

“I came off my bike when I was bombing through Sutton Park,” Kelly said. “I hit a hole, went up in the air and had just enough time to think: ‘Oh no, this is going to hurt.’

“I was in agony with my ribs afterwards and went to A&E but fortunately no serious damage had been caused, though they think I might have had a bit of internal bleeding.

“I basically had six days on the sofa, which was a bit miserable, but it has improved since thankfully.”

By coincidence, Thomas has been responsible for some remarkable achievements in the cycling world since going into remission following his life-threatening leukaemia diagnosis in the late 1990s.

We have reported on here before about his half a dozen or more money-raising epics on the Tour de France course and elsewhere.

But he has this weekend repeated his intention to remain in a front-man and less physical role in the future, with others taking their turn in the saddle. 

Thomas and Kelly were among the signings made by Graham Turner in the summer of 1993, only for the midfielder to be chopped down less than two months into the season by injury problems that started during his goal-scoring contribution to a victory at Sunderland.

Guests in the Billy Wright Stand’s various corporate rooms heard his recollections before the Molineux clash between two of his former clubs on Saturday.

Palace’s 1990 FA Cup final captain was accompanied for the afternoon by his wife, Julie, and youngest daughter, Georgia, who was born in 1996 during his time with Wolves and who is due to make them grandparents later this year for the first time.

Kelly was on duty as a pundit for BBC WM, having had a brief mid-season stint as assistant to Troy Deeney at Forest Green.

Also part of the Molineux welcoming party at the weekend were Andy Thompson and Steve Bull.