New man not yet ready, updates on Alex Hunt and Osaze Urhoghide ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s QPR test

Sheffield Wednesday are looking strong ahead of the visit of QPR to Hillsborough this Saturday.
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Garry Monk’s men have shaken off a handful of niggles ahead of the clash, although two players are still out.

But what of the condition of the likes of Osaze Urhoghide, Alex Hunt and Chey Dunkley? How is Callum Paterson looking after his first training session with the club?

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Let’s take a look at the updates Monk gave us ahead of the weekend.

Owls Alex Hunt   Pic Steve EllisOwls Alex Hunt   Pic Steve Ellis
Owls Alex Hunt Pic Steve Ellis

Any new injuries?

Good news. Despite a rough-and-tumble outing at Bristol City no player picked a knock up and aside from those already recovering from injuries his squad are fit and firing for the visit of QPR.

“Not at this moment,” he said. “We’ve got training today and tomorrow but nothing new at this time.

“As ever, there are always little niggles and bumps and bruises and stuff like that but at this moment in time nobody is ruled out in terms of the weekend.

How about the youngsters? Urhoghide and Hunt?

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Both have been out with knee injuries – Osaze Urhoghide considerably longer than Alex Hunt, who picked up something minor last week – and while the midfielder goes straight into contention, Urhoghide will have to wait just a little while longer it would seem.

“Osaze has completed minutes in the under-23s and is training regularly,” Monk said. “We’re looking to the under-23s game on Monday and try to get him the full quota of a game there to push the 90-minute barrier for him. That’s his final tick box.”

He also confirmed The Star’s report that Hunt had been training all week and was fit for contention this weekend.

What about the new boy Paterson?

He’ll head up to report for Scotland international duty with Liam Palmer next week, but whether we’ll see a glimpse of Callum Paterson in blue and white before then remains to be seen.

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“In training he looked fine and great, there’s another training today so yeah, it’ll just be about assessing where he’s at - what he can contribute and can’t contribute. We’ll make a decision from there.”

And Dunks?

In short, not yet. But Monk and Wednesday are hoping to see Chey Dunkley fit and approaching full fitness after the international break after he had minor surgery on his leg last month.

The Owls boss said: “In terms of Chey, he went to the specialist for an update, just a regular check that he needs for that injury. They’re delighted with it.

“They had remove some pins, which has always been part of the process when he got to a certain stage. He had a couple of days off to recover from the mini-surgery and now he’s ready to train.

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“Yes we want him back as quickly as we can, but we have to do right by him. We’re looking beyond that international break in terms of him really kicking on in training.”

Sheffield Wednesday’s expected first-team squad for Garry Monk to choose from:

Goalkeepers: Dawson, Wildsmith

Defenders: Iorfa, Lees, van Aken, Shaw, Börner

Wing-backs: Harris, Penney, Palmer, Odubajo

Midfielders: Luongo, Bannan, Brown, Dele-Bashiru, Pelupessy, Hunt

Attackers: Paterson, Windass, Kachunga, Rhodes, Reach

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