How many games Sheffield Wednesday duo Yan Valery and Sean Fusire could miss due to AFCON
Sheffield Wednesday could find themselves without two really important figures for several weeks because of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sunday’s Steel City derby against Sheffield United will mark the first of at least 25 matches Sheffield Wednesday must navigate their way through before the next international break in March.
The visit of the Blades will mark the first of 24 Championship matches the Owls must work their way through before the season’s next pause, by which time there will be a little over a month of the regular season remaining, while they will also have a minimum of one FA Cup fixture to think about.
Considering Owls manager Henrik Pedersen, following last weekend’s 3-1 defeat at Southampton, admitted his players were ready for the international break, saying they were “very, very tired” after six games in 22 days, the relentless nature of the Christmas period that is not all that far away could take its toll on Wednesday’s small squad.
In a bid to try and add to Pedersen’s list of options, Wednesday, after getting the green light from the English Football League last week, are trying to add two free agents to their ranks, one of whom is former Leeds United defender Liam Cooper.
While the prospect of bringing him and one other free agent in is a boost, it will not leave Wednesday’s squad any bigger come next month when the Africa Cup of Nations begins in Morocco. Both Tunisia and Zimbabwe have qualified for the tournament, and Owls duo Yan Valery and Sean Fusire are expected to be called up by their respective nations.
Both players have featured for the countries in this month’s international break, meaning further call-ups for AFCON are highly likely. Both players have been regular starters for Wednesday of late, meaning their anticipated departures next month will be felt by Pedersen.
AFCON is scheduled to start on December 21, with Zimbabwe facing Egypt in their opening game the following day. Tunisia will get their tournament underway on December 23, facing Uganda.
Below, The Star looks at how AFCON might impact Wednesday...
When will Valery and Fusire find out if they are called-up?
The 24 nations competing at the tournament have to submit their provisional 55-man squad lists to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), AFCON’s organisers, by Friday (November 21), marking exactly a month before the showpiece event starts.
The deadline for final squads to be submitted is December 11 - marking ten days before the tournament. However, it is likely several nations will announce their final squads before that cut-off point.
In the event of both Valery and Fusire receiving the call, FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) state that players called up for an international tournament must be released by their clubs and start to travel “no later than Monday morning the week preceding the week” that the tournament begins.
In the case of this year’s AFCON, that date is Monday, December 8 - exactly a fortnight before Zimbabwe’s opening game and 15 days before Tunisia’s opener. However, governing bodies have offered slightly more leniency in recent years, meaning their release could be slightly delayed in a boost to the Owls, who face Watford at Vicarage Road on December 9.
What Owls fixtures could Valery and Fusire miss?
If Tunisia and Zimbabwe select Valery and Fusire and they insist on the December 8 deadline for them to be released, the last Owls fixture they will be available for pre-AFCON will be the trip to Blackburn Rovers on December 6.
Zimbabwe, who are in Group B, and Tunisia, who are in Group C, will play a minimum of three games at the tournament, with their group stage schedules scheduled to conclude on December 29 and December 30 respectively. Should both nations exit the competition at the first hurdle, Fusire and Valery could miss a minimum of five matches depending on when they are released.
If they are allowed to be involved against Watford, they will definitely miss the tussles with Derby County (H), Ipswich Town (A), Hull City (H) and Blackburn Rovers (H).
Furthermore, should both nations exit the competition at the first hurdle, it is highly unlikely both players would be released by their nations and travel back to the UK in time for Wednesday’s New Year’s Day clash with Preston North End, meaning their most likely return date could be for the clash with QPR on January 4.
Exactly how many games the duo could miss in total will rest entirely on Zimbabwe’s and Tunisia’s progress. Should they both go all the way and reach the final, that will see them stay at AFCON right through until January 18.
Which Owls fixtures could they miss if Zimbabwe and Tunisia go all the way?
Should Valery and Fusire be released by the Owls on December 8 and help their nations go all the way to the final, they are guaranteed to miss the following fixtures:
- Watford (A) - December 9
- Derby County (H) - December 15
- Ipswich Town (A) - December 20
- Hull City (H) - December 26
- Blackburn Rovers (H) - December 29
- Preston North End (A) - January 1
- QPR (A) - January 4
- FA Cup third round - January 10/11
- Portsmouth (H) - January 17
The prospect of the pair missing up to nine games, potentially ten given Wednesday face Birmingham City at Hillsborough on January 20, would be a real blow, but it does all rest on Zimbabwe and Tunisia making the final. The group stage will finish on January 31, while the round-of-16 will be wrapped up by January 6.
There are a lot of moving parts and permutations involved, but it is highly likely Valery and Fusire will be missing for the second half of December at the very least.