Condition latest on boo boy Barry Bannan after Sheffield Wednesday substitution at Birmingham City
Barry Bannan and Liam Palmer were among the Sheffield Wednesday players suffering from a ‘healthy cramp’ in Tuesday’s tireless draw at Birmingham City, according to Owls boss Henrik Pedersen.
Skipper Bannan put on yet another inspiration performance in the 2-2 stalemate to the soundtrack of boos from a home crowd that had not forgotten his Aston Villa roots - or social media posts poking fun at the Blues following their relegation from the Championship in 2024.
But the Scot worked tirelessly and laid on a classy assist for a George Brown second half goal that looked to have earned Wednesday a second away win on the bounce before Demarai Gray’s last-breath winner cruelly denied the Owls a deserved point.
The last 15 minutes of the clash saw a raft of Wednesday players suffering from cramp, such has been the toll this season continues to take on the smallest squad in the division. Bannan was among them and in the 86th minute was substituted for youngster Sean Fusire having gone down in his own half. Pedersen smiled off any concerns over a lasting injury and paid testament to both he and vice-captain Liam Palmer in their efforts in what has already been a brutal week of action.
“Of course they are tired,” Pedersen told The Star. “They are working crazy, crazy hard. To play so many minutes today? Wow, that can be a lot for a guy who is 35. How Liam and Barry are playing these games is fantastic. I can see in all of our physical data that we are growing and growing and I am sure that our physical data from today will be also very good.”
It is not expected that Wednesday will have any players back before the next international break following Saturday’s home clash with Coventry City. Di’Shon Bernard, Olaf Kobacki, Reece Johnson and Pierce Charles are all some weeks from contention, it’s understood, while Nathaniel Chalobah is making good progress and could be eased back into full training sometime in the next couple of weeks.