Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen confirms extent of Liam Cooper injury blow
Liam Cooper will be sidelined for the next few weeks, marking another blow for Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has confirmed Liam Cooper faces a stint on the sidelines because of a groin injury.
The centre-back, who joined the Owls in November, was forced off in the first half of New Year’s Day’s 3-0 defeat to Preston North End at Deepdale, forcing Pedersen to admit after the game the initial signs didn’t look promising.
Unsurprisingly, Cooper missed Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to QPR, forcing Pedersen to recall youngster Cole McGhee to the starting XI. The Star reported on Saturday evening that initial assessments suggested he could be out for a number of weeks.
Pedersen has now confirmed our understanding, ruling the defender out for four weeks, marking another blow the Owls could have done without.
Pedersen confirms Cooper blow
“I think he'll be out for the next four weeks,” Cooper told The Star. “He was doing really, really well for us and he's a fantastic leader.
“He's one of the guys, like some of the other senior players, where they create the atmosphere so one plus one is three. So they don't play alone.
“We always have a team, so we always do things together. It's the relation that is the most important for us because nobody can do something alone, and especially not if we don't have the best players.
“Then it's the team who has to bring all the result, all the performance. And, of course, he has been a very important part of this, and, of course, we will miss him, but in our situation, then other players have to grow and take over from him.”
Unfortunately for Wednesday, who are hoping to bring fresh blood in during this month’s transfer window, they are not expecting to recover anyone else for next Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie against Brentford at Hillsborough.