The returning pair who could kickstart Sheffield Wednesday's season
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Chey Dunkley arrived still recovering from a serious injury that he has taken longer to fix than the club and the player would have liked.
Indeed, even now the former Wigan defender probably shouldn’t really have played three games in the space of a week, given his last competitive outing was as an 88th minute substitute for the Latics against Reading on February 26.
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Hide AdNo under 23 games, a couple of weeks of full trainng and there he was thrown into the Owls team to face Barnsley two weeks ago and he’s been in the starting XI ever since.
It’s a remarkable comeback but one that has given Wednesday a boost and fellow central defender Tom Lees has been taken aback by the seamless whay in which Dunkley has returned to action.
Lees said: "You kind of put yourself out there if I'm being honest because once the whistle goes no one is bothered - fans watching or opposition, they're not at games thinking 'oh, he's been out for 14 months I better take it easy'.
"You are there on the line once the whistle goes and that's it. It takes a bit of bottle to do that and he's done well and now, once he gets these games in, we'll start to see the real player because anyone who has been out that amount of time, it's a big, big ask and he's only going to get better as he gets fitter. He'll become more confident in himself and make better decisions because you're not as tired.”
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Hide AdAnother expected to make a return to the squad soon is Massimo Luongo, who had arguably been Wednesday’s most consistent performer this season and Lees is also looking forward to seeing the Australian back in the middle of the park.
"Mass has been brilliant this season, he's been a top player for us, he gives us so much energy, that robustness in midfield, he looks after the ball, so I'm hopeful he's back as soon as possible because I think that will be a big boost,” added Lees. “We have missed him since he's been out.”