Sheffield Wednesday boss reveals plans for midfielder who could be registered for Owls in 2024

Diaby, who is on loan at Hillsborough from Portimonense in Portugal, had a bright first hour at Hillsborough after joining the club under Xisco, however saw his debut cut short as he limped off with a serious injury.

Details of the problem have never been released, but it took the 27-year-old months to get back out on the training field again, and a decision was taken to leave him unregistered due to the length of time that he would face on the sidelines.

The Frenchman is back training now though, and this month he took to the field for the first time since his injury as he featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Wednesday's U21s against Manchester United at Carrington.

Röhl has a decision to make next month when the midfielder can be registered with the English Football League once again and return to action in the Championship, but it appears that the German wants to see what he's got in the tank before making a decision on the the way forward.

He told The Star, “He will train, he’s been with us, and play with the U21s in order to get minutes - and then in January I think he will be ready to come back. We’ll have to decide what is the best for him and what we can do in the next development steps.

"So far I’ve seen a player who is able to play in the centre of the field, he can carry the ball, has some good passes, and he can also have some good ball-winning situations. I’ve seen some good stuff until now.

"It’s about being ready to get into getting into a good shape, because my game is really intensive and especially in this league - with a lot of transition moments - you have to be ready for this tempo and speed. This is what we’re preparing him for, and then we’ll take a look how far he is.”

Wednesday have three game left before 2023 comes to a close, starting with this weekend's game against Cardiff City, and they'll be hoping to close the gap on those above them before the turn of the year.