Why Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk has no regrets over playing Steven Fletcher in their FA Cup win at Brighton & Hove Albion

The striker, a suprise inclusion in the starting line-up at the Amex Stadium, was carried off on a stretcher in the second half of the tie with a knee injury.

Fletcher, who missed three matches over the festive period due to illness, picked up the knock after staying down following a innocuous challenge with Gaetan Bong.

Monk, who rested midfield pair Sam Hutchinson and Barry Bannan, told The Star: "He needed the minutes. He has been missing for two and a half weeks and he needed the fitness.

"He played a small part in the Hull game and the plan was actually to play him for 60 minutes at Brighton.

"He came off but he didn't come off how we expected him to come off.

"We spoke about it after the Hull game and we needed to build him back up. He had missed a lot of football and training.

"I don't regret that (playing him). It was the right thing to do to build his fitness up after he missed a good period of games.

"It is just unfortunate that he ended up with that injury but hopefully it is not too serious."

The Wednesday chief confirmed Fletcher had undergone an X-ray and not suffered a broken bone.

“The good thing is that the x-ray has come back good, so there’s no break or anything like that,” said Monk, who is keeping his fingers crossed for a home draw in the fourth round. “If it’s a hyperextension then it shouldn’t be too long, it would be days or a week.

“But we’ll have to see about the damage around the knee. At this moment in time I can’t say whether it’s going to be this or that.

“Best case scenario is that it’s three, four, seven days. That’s what we’ll be lighting a candle for, we’ll have to see.”