Sheffield Wednesday defender handed untimely blow after impressing at S6

The full back has been a top performer for Andy Holdsworth’s side this season, earning plaudits for his showings in blue and white following his move to Middlewood Road earlier in the year.

Reed, formerly of Brighouse Town, was handed the captain’s armband at U21 level after an equally unfortunate injury to Sean Fusire, and Danny Röhl spoke recently about how he’d liked what he’d seen from the left back on the occasions when he’d been asked to train with the first team.

The 20-year-old was making good progress through the ranks at Wednesday, however as now suffered a setback after sustaining a foot injury in the friendly encounter with Manchester United at Carrington earlier in the month, an injury that will see him miss some crucial games for Holdsworth’s outfit – including, possibly, the mini Steel City derby with Sheffield United on January 9th.

It's a tough time for the U21s at present given that they’ve lost their top scorer, Bailey Cadamarteri, to the first team and both Fusire and Reed to injury, however they haven't lost too much ground in their hunt for the title and remain third in the league.

Wednesday’s youngsters have picked up four points from their last three games in the Professional Development League, including a draw with top of the table Birmingham City this week, and will now only return to competitive action against the Blades early next year.