George Brown plan outlined after Sheffield Wednesday absence vs Coventry City
Manager Henrik Pedersen has reiterated that Sheffield Wednesday must manage striker George Brown carefully after he was absent from the matchday squad against Coventry City on Saturday.
Brown made his long-awaited return from a lengthy injury lay-off last Tuesday, storing 45 minutes under his belt for Wednesday’s Under-21s in a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the Brick Community Stadium.
However, he was not involved when the U21s were edged out by Cardiff City at Hillsborough on Friday afternoon, triggering suggestions he may have been under consideration for a place in the matchday squad against Coventry 24 hours later.
Ultimately, the trip to the Championship table-toppers came too soon for the youngster to be considered for selection with Wednesday keen to manage him carefully after so long out. Brown’s last first-team appearance was against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on December 20.
With Pedersen understandably keen to manage the striker as carefully as possible, the Dane has confirmed he expects Brown to feature for the U21s again on Tuesday afternoon when Barnsley are booked in to visit Middlewood Road.
“Yes, he could not be in the U21s yesterday, it would also have been too big a risk to put him in today,” Pedersen told The Star after his side’s goalless draw at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
“Now he has to train, he has to play on the U21s again, and then let's see what happens next weekend.”
Brown, who burst onto the scene out of nowhere last August, is out-of-contract at Hillsborough this summer, but Wednesday are understood to have the option to extend his deal by a further year - an extension that is set to be triggered.
He has made seven Championship appearances for Wednesday this season, chipping in with two goals. He scored the decisive second in the Owls’ only victory of the season - a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park back in September.