Honest Danny Röhl speaks on Lee Gregory future amid continued Sheffield Wednesday absence

The 35-year-old ex-Stoke City man hasn't played a minute for the Owls for over a month now as Röhl continues to impart his way of doing things on the squad. Gregory has been left out of the last three matchday squads altogether despite injury and suspension to the likes of Michael Smith and Josh Windass, with teenager Bailey Cadamarteri promoted from within to lead the line in the midweek draw with Leicester City.

Wednesday took out a year's option on Gregory's contract in the summer to extend his time with the club into a third campaign. He has 29 goals and 12 assists in his 100 games for the club so far.

Röhl insisted Gregory's time at the club is not over, but that he must push his case to claw back ground in the 'battle' for minutes in the side. With a manic December schedule laid out ahead, the squad will be refreshed and early substitutions made during matches, which could open the door for a Gregory comeback. Even in the German's brief period at the club, the likes of Jeff Hendrick and Liam Palmer have battled back from periods on the sidelines to come back in.

"The door is still open and he is a player for us," Röhl said on Gregory. "I support him. But for sure there is always a battle to be in the squad. He is a good human, I like him, he is honest and he works hard in training. Let's see what we have to do on Saturday, we spoke about fresh legs coming into the squad again. Maybe he can show he is ready. This is important.

"I spoke in the dressing room that we need everybody in the group. Even if today he is not in the squad it doesn't mean he is out. He will still have a chance, but Bailey played fantastic and this is a good signal for us."

Despite Huddersfield Town's win at Sunderland extending the points deficit on the safety spots to 12, Wednesday's draw with table-topping Leicester once again showed encouragement in performance and the nature of Hendrick's injury-time equaliser no doubt a confidence boost for changing room and terraces alike.

"This is a tough week with two strong opponents," Röhl continued. "We took until now two less points our outcome was not what we wanted. We want minimum six points more, then we look great in the table. But in this way I believe in my group. It's a good signal, we need to prove we can do it again and again. It's a long way until the end of the season but we have a good chance to stay in the league."