Bailey Cadamarteri's Sheffield Wednesday absence explained after Millwall sit-out

The hotshot teenager has been a key part of Danny Röhl's side since the opening weeks of his Wednesday management stint but sat out of their trip to Millwall altogether, with goalscorer Ike Ugbo leading the line and Michael Smith and Ashley Fletcher coming off the bench.

In his explanation to The Star post-match, Röhl revealed that Cadamarteri had suffered a knee injury and pulled out of the squad on Friday, though he is not overly concerned at this stage that the issue will keep him out for any serious length of time.

"Bailey has a problem with his knee," the German coach said. "We have to look, this is football. He has done well in the last weeks and months, but it is also a big step for a young player to come from the academy into the under-21s and then the first team. It was for him immediately, be a starter, starter, starter.

"Hopefully it's not too bad. It could be that he is out for some days, hopefully not weeks. Yesterday after training we got the information and we noticed in training that he was not ready to go. This is where we are."

Fletcher's red card in injury time means he will be suspended for Saturday's visit of Bristol City, leaving Wednesday a man down when it comes to options in the final third. It remains to be seen whether Cadamarteri will be able to step back into the matchday squad. Röhl was able to offer reassurance over the condition of influential pair Barry Bannan and Ian Poveda, both of whom came off late in the clash but should be fine.

Posting a message to concerned Wednesday fans on Twitter / X, Cadamarteri himself said: "Just had a niggle and kept me out as a precaution so hopefully back and available for involvement next weekend - safe journey home for all the traveling Wednesday fans hope you all enjoy your weekend WAWAW"