Sheffield Wednesday bolster backroom staff with the appointment of former Manchester United head of performance Tony Strudwick

Strudwick, regarded as one of the leading figures in sports science in the country, has been appointed head of sports science and medicine.

He is set to begin his new role at the beginning of next month and will be tasked with overseeing the Owls' medical and fitness departments.

His arrival represents a major coup for Wednesday, who have been blighted by injury problems over the last 18 months.

Bruce is determined to solve the club's long-running injury woes, saying: "I am hoping that with a good pre-season, and different methods, that that can help them.

"But it is very difficult. Are we just unlucky? But when it’s constant, then it can’t be just unlucky all the time. We seem to pick up far more than anybody else."

Sheffield Wednesday’s 2019/20 Championship fixtures

Strudwick, meanwhile, spent over a decade at Old Trafford and was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s inner circle at the club. Previously of West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers, Strudwick joined the Premier League giants in the summer of 2007 and initially worked as a fitness coach under Ferguson before Louis van Gaal moved him to a role working predominantly with the club’s younger players.

Strudwick, who has been a practitioner for more than 20 years and has also worked with the England national team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, left his United job at the end of the 2017/18 season and joined Ryan Giggs' Wales backroom staff. Strudwick replaced Wales' previous head of performance Dr Ryland Morgans.

It is believed Strudwick will continue with his Wales role while working at Hillsborough.

Wednesday's first-team squad are due to report back to Middlewood Road to start fitness and condition testing next week ahead of their 10-day training camp in Portugal. Bruce's men, who kick off the 2019/20 season away to Reading on Saturday, August 3, fly out to Faro on July 1.

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