Sheffield Wednesday boss clears up situation as duo left out v Stockport County

The Owls took on Stockport County on Tuesday night in the second competitive game of Xisco’s tenure at Hillsborough, and he rang the changes as he brought in six players for their full debuts at the club and made seven changes from the side that started against Southampton.

His side came with questions, though, as Johnson, Wilks and Michael Smith were all missing from the 20-man squad – and he revealed afterwards that Smith had been due to start before a late decision was made to leave him out due to sickness.

The former two, meanwhile, haven’t featured quite as heavily in preseason as ‘Smudga’, and there are now question marks with regards to what lies in the immediate future of both Johnson and Wilks.

“These two have different situations, one has an injury and the other is just my decision,” Xisco said when asked about the pair. “Marvin is my decision, and with Mallik he has a problem and we’ll see if he can be back again in a short time.”

Whether Wilks recovers in time to face his former club, Hull City, at the weekend remains to be seen, while things don’t appear to be looking good for Johnson after he was left out for the second game in a row.

The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup will take place this evening.