Fightback of Sheffield Wednesday favourite has delivered wider message to out-of-favour cohort

The Wednesday vice-captain did not feature in a minute of Röhl's first seven matches in charge and found himself in the unusual position of not being named in back-to-back matchday squads in matches against Rotherham United and Bristol City.

Palmer has battled his way back into the reckoning, however, and made his 407th and 408th appearances for the club in their last two outings, replacing the injured Dominic Iorfa in the opening minutes of their win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

There is hope at Wednesday that Iorfa's issue will not be a serious one, but if he is to miss any action, it would appear Palmer has battled his way back ahead of Pol Valentin in the right-back reckoning, with the Spaniard not having featured in their last four matchday squads - a stretch of nearly a month.

"It was for him not the easiest of times in the last weeks," Röhl said on Palmer. "He didn't play, but he was still a good guy in the dressing room and in the group, he trained hard and he made sure he was ready to come in and show that he can help the team. He has done well.

"It's not about just the starting line-up, it is about having players to come in and finish the game, to make sure we take something. It works well, everybody is here showing me they are important to the team."