Three-week break with postponements a Sheffield Wednesday possibility - one game's fate confirmed
There are no mandatory international breaks in League One football - but Sheffield Wednesday may get one.
Sheffield Wednesday may get the option of heading into what would be a three-week break from League One football following next weekend’s clash with Stockport County - as international call-ups are confirmed.
EFL clubs have the option of postponing matches that clash with national break meet-ups if they have three or more players unavailable due to a call-up. Sean Fusire’s involvement in Zimbabwe’s upcoming AFCON qualifiers has already been confirmed by the relevant federation, while there are possible call-ups for Ali Al-Hamadi (Iraq) and Yan Valery (Tunisia), who both featured in their respective squads during the World Cup this summer.
Jamal Lowe’s form could push his way back into the Jamaica squad, while Kieran Morrison featured in Northern Ireland’s most recent squad listing. Other players including Harry Gray (England) Gabriel Otegbayo (Republic of Ireland) and Will Grainger (Wales) could be called up to youth squads.
A trio of Wednesday involvements would give the Owls the option of postponing their trip to Stevenage and their home clash with Cambridge United on September 26 and October 3 respectively. It would mean the time between league fixtures would be three weeks between their September 19 match with Stockport and their October 10 trip to Huddersfield Town.
With a number of players on the comeback trail from injury, the timing of a two-weekend break - extended by FIFA this year in favour of individual breaks in both September and October - could prove advantageous for the Owls.
One match that does fall within the dates of the break but will go ahead is the EFL Trophy clash at Salford City, for which 1,366 were put on sale for the September 22 clash. A home game with Sunderland’s under-21s in the same competition is expected to take place on October 6, though clubs do have avenues to postpone those matches if they see fit.
A passage from the EFL guidance reads: “For EFL Trophy fixtures, designated midweeks are identified during international breaks to accommodate all group stage matches. However, flexibility is also provided for Clubs that would prefer to play outside of these windows. The EFL and participating Clubs work collaboratively to agree suitable fixture dates, ensuring that all group stage matches are completed ahead of the Round of 32, which is scheduled to start in the week beginning 7 December.”
Beyond the juggle with injuries, there is the advantage of further time on the training ground for table-topping Wednesday, whose manager Henrik Pedersen said that while he is pleased with the culture shown in performances that have taken them to four wins in their opening five matches, he believes there is much work to do on the training ground to get them playing to potential. Any postponed matches would have to be rearranged for midweek.
Speaking after the win at Peterborough, Pedersen said: “First, we have to recover now. And then we need one, two really, really tough sessions. Where we get intensity in the brain, intensity in the body.
“Where we train all the basic things. We don't have to build over now. Because you can see now when we don't train enough, then we lose the basic things, so we have to train the basic things again with intensity. So we get more clarity and we have more situations. But the boys have the same thought in the same moment.
“So the defensive swarm is going to be stronger. The intensity on the ball is going to be stronger. The dynamic runs, opposite runs on the defending line has to be stronger. So we have a lot to do. But first, I'm really pleased with this week and how the boys have played this beginning of the league.”