Coventry City star pair will NOT feature in clash with Sheffield Wednesday
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The two sides meet on Saturday and Mark Robins, who played one season for the Owls at the end of his career in 2003/04, will lead the Midlands club to their first visit to S6 since October 2009.
The Sky Blues haven't won there since a year earlier, when goals from Robbie Simpson and a certain Clinton Morrison earned a 2-0 win over Brian Laws’ men.
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Hide AdRobins’ newly-promoted outfit are eight unbeaten and have kept four clean sheets in that time. Wednesday, of course, are facing a very different reality.
But there is a boost of sorts for the Owls in that a key Coventry pair will miss the clash.
Captain Liam Kelly will miss out with a groin injury, while Dutch-Brazilian creative hub Gus Hamer will be sidelined with a suspension after picking up a booking in their 0-0 draw with Huddersfield in the week.
“It’s not good,” Robins said on Kelly’s injury, before joining the likes of Wednesday boss Tony Pulis and his predecessor Garry Monk in expressing his concern for the strain the condensed fixture schedule is putting on player’s bodies.
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Hide Ad“He’s going to be two or three months, so it’s a blow because he’s been brilliant, culminating in the two goals he scored on Saturday, but he’s popped his groin and it will be a while.
“I have been told eight to 12 weeks but it obviously depends on how quickly we can get him right. He’s a brilliant professional who will rehabilitate and come back as quickly as he possibly can do.
“But yes, it’s a blow and one we can’t really afford. When you look at teams up and down the country and people are going down like flies really.
“It’s almost cruel what we’re asking them to do. It’s very, very tough what they’re being asked to do so we have to take our hats off to them because it’s tiring for everyone. It’s tough.”
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Hide AdPulis confirmed after Tuesday’s defeat that Massimo Luongo and Julian Börner would miss out on Saturday alongside a raft of longer-term absentees.