Danny Röhl gives simple reason Lee Gregory was not involved in Sheffield Wednesday defeat at Norwich City

The 3-1 defeat at Carrow Road was the sixth consecutive match Gregory has not been named in the 20-man squad for the resurgent survival battlers, with a host of attacking options preferred. The 35-year-old has not played any football since Röhl's third match in charge of the S6 club, a defeat at Plymouth Argyle now 50 days ago.

The German coach has maintained that despite Gregory's continued absence from his plans no doors are shut on involvement for any of his players - and revealed that he could have played a part at Norwich were it not for illness. Josh Windass and Michael Smith both missed the clash through injury, leaving Wednesday a little light in terms of potential goal-getters. Gregory, Röhl said, was an option.

"He was ill, that was the reason why he was not in the squad," the Owls boss told The Star post-match. "You can see that just about everybody who was available was in the squad and that was just the reason he was away. On Saturday we will look at who will come back and who will not and I will decide once again."

Teenage striker Bailey Cadamarteri continued his eye-catching start to life in senior football by scoring his second first team goal in the loss at Carrow Road, with Callum Paterson and Anthony Musaba selected to provide support. Ashley Fletcher and Djeidi Gassama were among those sent on while chasing the game.

It remains to be seen whether Gregory could be in line for a comeback appearance in the weekend's monster clash with QPR, with Röhl's confidence in the availability of either Windass or Smith some way less than absolute.