Dominic Iorfa faces suspension risk as Sheffield Wednesday face anxious injury wait
Sheffield Wednesday are yet to find out how serious Dominic Iorfa’s back injury is after he was forced off against Sheffield United.
Defender Dominic Iorfa will be walking a disciplinary tightrope when Sheffield Wednesday travel to The Den to face Millwall on Wednesday night - should his back injury not rule him out.
The centre-back, who joined Wednesday almost seven years ago, was forced off shortly before half-time in Sunday’s Steel City derby defeat to Sheffield United after struggling with a back issue and was replaced by debutant Liam Cooper.
Iorfa took a whack relatively early on and was spotted clutching his back on a handful of occasions before the decision was made for him to be withdrawn with 41 minutes on the clock, meaning Owls boss Henrik Pedersen was forced to hand a debut to Cooper sooner than he probably anticipated.
Following his side’s 3-0 defeat to the Blades, Pedersen was asked about Iorfa’s condition, but, understandably, he said it was too early to offer a diagnosis, meaning it remains to be seen if he will be available for the trip to the capital.
Pedersen said: “He dropped down on his back. He has had it before, the doc said we should change him. I don’t know how it is.”
Iorfa running Owls suspension risk
Should the injury not be deemed too serious, preventing him from missing the trip to Millwall, Iorfa will have to be mindful of the fact he is just one yellow card away from being given a one-match suspension.
Five minutes before his withdrawal against the Blades, the towering defender was shown his fourth yellow card of the season for clattering Callum O’Hare. English Football League rules state that any player who amasses five yellow cards within their team’s opening 19 league fixtures will be forced to serve a one-match ban.
With Wednesday already increasingly light on numbers, the last thing they need is any further injury or suspension-related absences.
The cut-off point for Iorfa to avoid being handed a one-match ban will come after the Owls’ trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers on December 6.
No other members of the Wednesday squad are on the cusp of a ban, although Sean Fusire, who was booked just before half-time on Sunday, and Liam Palmer are currently on three yellow cards apiece, meaning they are just two bookings away from being given a suspension.