Sheffield Wednesday’s European training camp has come to an end - depending on your time of reading.

Fun and frustration were delivered a mixed final few hours for Sheffield Wednesday in Vienna, with damage to their plane leaving them facing a six-and-a-half hour delay to their return to Blighty - after a night of team bonding courtesy of their new chairman.

Players and staff reported to Vienna airport early this morning to board their Ryanair flight to Manchester and things appeared to be going smoothly as players and staff boarded taxi buses for a prompt departure. After a long wait, those taxi buses were rediverted back to the airport lounge after crew discovered a dent in the left wing caused by a bird strike.

The prospect of a long and arduous delay lies ahead as engineers continue their inspections of the aircraft and means a lunchtime arrival back to the UK will now stretch long into the evening. Luckily, those delayed were given a fortune-altering €4 voucher with which they can almost buy a bottle of water. They’re also being treated to AI updates vie the Ryanair app. As you may have guessed, The Star is also among those waiting frustrated in Austria - entirely by coincidence.

So too are the players and staff of Stoke City, with whom Wednesday will share their trip home after they shared the pitch at the OFB Campus on the outskirts of Vienna in a friendly run-out on Saturday. Svante Ingelsson has been seen catching up with old pals and other friends from either side have shared a cheery moment or two - a departure from the spirit of the friendly, which saw some feisty challenges made on a testy occasion.

The frustration of their airport delay came after a bonding evening laid on by chairman David Storch on Saturday evening, which saw a Vienna rooftop booked-out as the camp enjoyed a meal and drinks together. The US businessman is understood to have made a warm and impassioned speech in which he hailed the spirit within the camp and reiterated his commitment to providing the best-possible environment for his players.

Wednesday’s executive team flew in to the last couple of days of the Owls’ Hungary training camp ahead of the Stoke friendly and were among those to take up the option of karaoke on the night alongside those undergoing initiations - and there are strong rumours of a fascinating duet having taken place. One executive team member apparently shocked the audience with his delivery of a gangster rap classic. We’ll leave a bit of mystique there.

All in all, a good time is said to have been had - even if it does all end with a brutally frustrating wait in an unexciting airport. The Star’s coverage of the Owls’ Eurotrip will continue into the coming days, with plenty still to get through.