Sheffield Wednesday get Sean Fusire boost vs Hull City after Zimbabwe squad withdrawal
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has confirmed wing-back Sean Fusire is available for Saturday’s Championship clash with Hull City despite him withdrawing from the Zimbabwe squad ahead of the upcoming international break.
Alongside Owls teammate Marvelous Nakamba, Fusire, last week, was included in the Warriors squad ahead of them competing in the Four Nations International Tournament in Botswana over the upcoming hiatus.
However, it was announced earlier this week that Fusire had withdrawn from the squad to ‘attend to some personal matters’ here in England.
A statement issued by ZIFA said: "The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) wishes to advise that Junior Zindoga (TS Galaxy) has been called up to the Warriors squad for the upcoming Botswana Four Nations Tournament as a replacement for Sean Fusire (Sheffield Wednesday).
"Fusire has asked to be excused from the squad in order to attend to some personal matters. He remains fully committed to the national cause and continues to be an important part of the Warriors set- up."
Fortunately, Fusire, who was included in Zimbabwe’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] prior to Christmas, is available for Wednesday’s trip to Hull this weekend, meaning he is poised to continue at right wing-back.
Pedersen, hosting his pre-match press conference on Friday lunchtime, told The Star: “He is fine for this weekend, yes. I think Sean is back again.
“He had developed fantastically this season and then left for the Africa Cup of Nations and he didn’t play. It took him three or four games before he came back [to his best] after he came back.
“He is now starting to be strong again. I think he has made a new jump in his development, especially from the offensive side. We have spoken a lot, telling him he is very strong defensively in one-vs-one, but also tactically for the pressing side.
“We have also spoken about if you are a right wing-back you cannot just stay in your own half and play the ball sideways or backwards. We need a lot of capacity for offensive running. We need more crossing from your side, we need more give and go, we need you to make a bigger difference when the ball is on the right side and opposite.
“We need to see him more times in the opposition’s box when we have the ball on the left side. I think in the last two or three games, really, he has improved on the offensive side.”