The former England Under-21 international starred for Mick McCarthy's side before breaking a metatarsal bone in April to curtail his campaign.

Wolves went on to win the Championship title, earning a return to the Premier League, and are preparing for the first game of the new campaign when West Ham visit.

Kightly, though, will not feature in the Molineux curtain-raiser on August 15 as he is refusing to return to action before completely recovering from his injury.

"I'd been working hard all summer to get myself up to full fitness and feel that I'm very close," the 23-year-old told Wolves' official website. "But I'm just suffering from a few minor niggles which means I'm not quite at full throttle.

"It's been affecting me in the games I've played so far and so the decision has been taken to take a step back and have some more treatment to ensure that I am fully right.

"Of course it will be a disappointment not to be involved for the first day of the season but it's more important that I am able to do myself and the team justice when I play.

"This is a obviously a big season both for me and for Wolves, and there is no point taking any risks in terms of rushing back and causing more problems later on.

"It is a long season, and hopefully by taking this action I will be available for as much of it as possible.

"We'll see how it goes, but the aim is to be back in training within a couple of weeks and then step things up to work back towards full match fitness."