“Non-stop..” Sheffield Wednesday man offers upbeat update on injury comeback of important teammate

George Byers and Reece James are the latest to report to the medical team having both been stretchered off in the 1-0 win.

And there they’ll have met others including Michael Ihiekwe, a picture of defensive consistency in the early months of the season before suffering a knee injury as November turned to December.

Few Wednesday figures know the 30-year-old as well as his former Rotherham United brother-in-arms Michael Smith, who spoke in upbeat fashion about a recovery effort that looks likely to creep into February.

“He's doing well,” Smith told The Star. “He's a very strong lad mentally and he's just going through his rehab as positively as he can. It's hard for any player to be out for any length of time but he's got a smile on his face and he seems to be coping well. Hopefully he can get back as soon as possible.

“Just as detailed as the coaching staff are the medical staff with the programmes the injured guys get. They're every bit as detailed and Icky has been in the gym non-stop, he's working hard doing double and triple sessions.

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“You can see how desperate he is to get back involved, you could see he was playing a lot of football before he got injured so hopefully he can get back quickly.”

Elsewhere on the comeback trail are skipper Barry Bannan (hamstring) – expected back in the coming weeks – and Ben Heneghan (knee) who will likely miss the rest of the season.