‘Are we just unlucky?’ – Steve Bruce on injuries, Matt Penney and Kieran Lee’s returns

Sheffield Wednesday boss Steve Bruce has revealed he could be forced to wait until next season before he sees Matt Penney in action with the first team.
Matt Penney Matt Penney
Matt Penney

The frustrated Owls boss said injury problems have hampered his start to life at Hillsborough, although he hopes to iron out persistent fitness issues over the summer.

Speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow’s Championship match against Norwich City at Carrow Road, Bruce said that long-term absentees Matt Penney and Kieran Lee might not feature before the end of the campaign despite recent outings with Wednesday’s under-23s.

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He said: “Particularly Kieran Lee of course it is a huge stepping stone for him to get some more minutes and he feels ok.

“For Matt Penney it’s just a matter of time and he’s had a bad dislocation of his shoulder and I’ve never seen the boy to be honest.

“It’s good news with that one but the unfortunate news is we’ve got two weeks left so yes it’s good news but probably good news for next season.

“We will see how they are in the next two weeks. It is difficult because they have been out for so long but we will see.”

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Lee, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been out of action for over a year but played 66 minutes of the Owls’ second string win over QPR on Monday.

Bruce’s injury concerns before the end of the campaign don’t end there though, as he revealed that Adam Reach and Rolando Aarons would be unavailable for the Good Friday clash against Daniel Farke’s side.

“It has been a hampering because we always seem to be picking up injuries and talking about injuries,” he said.

“It’s something which obviously we have to address because unfortunately when I look back over recent history in the last 12 months or 18 months it’s a constant that we miss far too many games and I want to try to find a solution to that as soon as possible.

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“I’m hoping that with a good pre-season and different methods that can help them but it is very difficult. Are we just unlucky?

“When it’s a constant it seems we are not just unlucky and we seem to be picking up far more than anybody else.”