Rocky, shopping and a baby: Sheffield Wednesday's Dominic Iorfa reveals all on injury recovery

The reigning Owls player of the year injured his achilles in December, ruling him out of the rest of the season. Together with influential midfielder Massimo Luongo in particular, his is a presence that has been sorely missed at Hillsborough.

It’s hoped the 25-year-old could be back in time for pre-season. “I’m good, things are progressing slowly,” he told swfc.co.uk.

“It’s been nearly four or five months since the injury but things are going well and I’m starting to see the light and the end of the tunnel and I’m close to getting back on the grass.

“Everything is on schedule, I’ve had no setbacks which is good. I’ve been building up my strength and I’m at the point now where I’m able to run indoors and in the pool, then I need to start running on the treadmill and once that’s ticked off I’ll be back on the grass.

“It was tough at the start, the first few weeks I was in a dark place, it’s my first long term injury and it was tough watching the boys train.”

Iorfa opened up on the mental strain an injured footballer has to deal with. His first born arrived not long after his injury, meaning it has been a busy time for the defender.

He said: “The support from the boys when I first came back after a month away resting was really good.

“I’ve had lots of support, they offered to do shopping for me and things like that when I was unable to.

“The hardest part was the first two months when I had a boot on and was on crutches, I couldn’t do much or even leave the house. Then the boot comes off and you can start doing weights, thankfully it’s kind of flown by.”

As part of his recovery, Iorfa spent time walking up and down the steps at the Kop ahead of Wednesday’s win over Blackburn on Tuesday. “It was a bit old school,” he said. “I think the physios have watched too much Rocky!

“But it was good to be back at Hillsborough, that’s the first time I’ve been since I’ve been injured.”