Talented Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper returns to face Oxford United but injury mystery surrounds one player
Wednesday welcome back one player but have a ‘few doubts’ for this weekend
Pierce Charles is available for selection again for Sheffield Wednesday’s trip to Oxford United this weekend.
The Northern Ireland international goalkeeper did not play against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night because of a knock he suffered in his previous outing at home to Charlton Athletic. The club said he would be assessed for the match at Oxford and manager Henrik Pedersen confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Charles trained on Thursday and Friday and that he is available for the clash at the Kassam Stadium.
But mystery surrounds one player who Pedersen said is on the ‘limit.’ However, the Owls boss chose to keep his cards close to his chest. Jarvis Thornton hobbled off against Middlesbrough with a dead leg, while Marvelous Nakamba came off after an hour. Nathaniel Chalobah and Olaf Kobacki started on the bench as their minutes are managed, while Max Lowe has had more game-time than expected since returning from a lengthy lay-off.
Pedersen said: “There are a few doubts, but there'll be some late decisions. Fatigue is a good word. There is someone that is on the limit, and we wait for some answers. So it will be a late decision, maybe first thing tomorrow.”
When pushed if one of the doubts is Thornton, Pedersen replied: “He got a very tough dead leg, but he's a strong young man, so he'll also be in the squad tomorrow.”
Opponents Oxford are third from bottom and are six points from safety and they must win their last two games to stand a chance of survival and even that might not be enough to stopping them joining Wednesday in League One.
“They are a very well organised defensive team,” Pedersen said on Oxford. “They have some good transitions. And then they are very, very strong in what we call second ball football and set pieces. So it's going to be a tough game, but we are looking forward to it, and we want to not only play a good game, as in Middlesbrough, we also want to take something away from the game.”