Good and bad in round-up of 15 Sheffield Wednesday injury cases as Plymouth Argyle clash nears
Sheffield Wednesday are preparing to tackle Plymouth Argyle this weekend.
Sheffield Wednesday are juggling an ongoing injury crisis - with some key figures newly-ruled out and others nearing a return. The Owls take on Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough on Saturday hoping to earn a much-needed win.
Here’s a fulsome round-up of where the squad is at after Tuesday evening’s EFL Trophy defeat to Accrington Stanley.
Max Lowe
The newest of the big name absences, Lowe is out for what Challinor described as four to six weeks having gone off late in the Oldham Athletic defeat over the weekend.
“Max has got a recurrence of the injury he had earlier in the season so he's going to be out for a period, probably maybe four to six weeks. Which is disappointing because you saw the impact and the profile of him in terms of what we want to try and do in possession. So that's disappointing for everybody but something that we'll have to deal with.”
Louie Barry
Wednesday have really missed their lively new boy since a freak injury sustained at Wycombe Wanderers on September 1 - and there’s brighter news here. The road to recovery is close to an end and he could even be in contention for the weekend’s visit of Plymouth Argyle.
“He's been out longer than the other guys,” Challinor said. “He's never going to be 100% match fit by doing that, but his injury is probably a bit different to others. It wasn't a muscle injury, it was an ankle.
“Louie is probably more frustrated than anybody because he's felt good for some time, but he does need dripping back in. He's obviously desperate to make an impact. He came here in order to do that and it feels probably at the moment that's been taken away from him. We hope to see him back certainly within the coming weeks. Maybe Saturday, we'll see what the next few days look like.”
Liam Cooper and Billy Mitchell
Both big players and big absentees, experienced figures Cooper and Mitchell have trained in the early part of this week and it is hoped they can make a return to contention this weekend. The extent of their involvement is not yet known - both have a relative injury history and care will be taken not to worsen Wednesday’s injury pile-up.
Harry Gray
A late withdrawal from the squad at Oldham having felt discomfort from a knock, Wednesday are hopeful loanee Gray can step back into the squad this weekend.
Challinor said: “He's fine, he got a whack on the hip on Friday and then straight away when he went to do the warm-up on Sunday he sort of felt it. So we obviously made the change and George went onto the bench for him. Harry's trained today so fingers crossed it is just a soft tissue injury and he'll be available for us at the weekend.”
Joe Lumley and Ashley Maynard-Brewer
Number one goalkeeper Lumley has been absent since sustaining a rib injury a month ago and has stepped up his recovery to the point he may be able to feature this weekend. His deputy Maynard-Brewer stepped in proved able, but he too has had a sit-out after taking a bow to the head on Sunday.
Should the pair both miss out, Connal Trueman looks set to take the gloves having made a couple of decent saves in the defeat to Accrington Stanley.
Di’Shon Bernard, Yan Valery, Liam Palmer and Jamal Lowe
None of the trio you can put in the ‘injured’ category, though they raised concern by coming off the pitch during the Oldham match. Challinor put the issues down to cramp or fatigue, quipping that Bernard in particular has been walking ‘like a tin man’ having come through a full match and the bulk of extra-time. All are considered likely to be available for Saturday.
Reece James
Performing well on the left side, James fell to a groin issue earlier this month and is expected back sometime in mid-December. With Lowe also set for a stint on the sidelines there is concern over the left side, with the weekend’s fill-in figure Jordi Liongola away this weekend on international duty. Kieran Morrison has played at left wing-back this season but is too away with his country.
Mason Burstow
Out for a few weeks having picked up an injury in a moment that perhaps sums up Wednesday’s current run of luck with injuries. Challinor told media recently: “He got injured in the Blackpool game, so he’s going to be four to six weeks. I think he’s tweaked a groin with the shot he had from the halfway line.”
Ali Al-Hamadi
Missed out on a trip away with Iraq with a foot injury that has an as yet undefined return date. He has been running in training and it will be hoped he won’t be out for too long - with the November 20 clash with Barnsley outlined as a target return date.
Al-Hamadi recently posted to social media: “Frustratingly it has been stop-start the last few weeks for me personally. Working as hard as ever to stay on that pitch, help the team and reach our goals for this season.”
Tyler Onyango
Managed just a few minutes of his Owls debut at Leyton Orient on the opening day before succumbing to a serious knee injury. He has since undertaken a successful surgery and will be out until the closing weeks of the season at least - possibly for its remainder.
Who is else is unavailable for Plymouth?
Kieran Morrison (Northern Ireland), Jordi Liongola (Burundi), Sean Fusire (Zimbabwe), and Will Grainger (Wales u19s) will all miss the Pilgrims’ visit on Saturday through international commitments. A host of the youngsters involved in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy defeat to Accrington Stanley are expected to return to their loan clubs in non-league - though these deals are flexible in nature and it is expected that in theory they could be recalled at short notice.
So who is available?
The current understanding counts 16 first team players as definitely available as things stand. The list reads as follows:
GK: Connal Trueman, Joe Lumley (maybe)
DEF: Yan Valery, Di’Shon Bernard, Liam Palmer, Ricardo Santos, Sil Swinkels, Gabriel Otegbayo, Ernie Weaver Liam Cooper (maybe)
MID: Barry Bannan, Callum Slattery, Jaden Heskey, Jarvis Thornton, Billy Mitchell (maybe)
ATT: David Keillor-Dunn, Jamal Lowe, Harry Gray, George Brown, Louie Barry (maybe)