Sheffield Wednesday: Why Michael Smith and Michael Ihiekwe were missing for Owls at Hillsborough

The duo were present at Hillsborough for the 2-0 defeat to the La Liga outfit, however weren’t part of the squad as Darren Moore gave runouts to several players in their only preseason friendly on home soil before the 2022/23 season gets underway.

But the Wednesday boss says that there’s nothing to worry about, and added that they may well be in contention for the weekend’s game against Wigan Athletic.

He told the media, "Both players are fine. Both had a little bit of tightness so I said 'no, you're not playing.’… Michael Ihiekwe went out and trained in the warm up and I felt that was enough. I wanted him to come out in the environment.

"Michael Smith trained this morning. I wanted to give him volume in training but I didn't want to risk him in the game. We will see how he goes over the next couple of days and we will look to him for the weekend.

"I said to both players that I have not signed them for one or two games in pre-season, I have signed them for the course of the season. If they are feeling a bit of tightness now, I would rather leave them out of it as opposed to trying to be a hero at this stage of the season.”

Meanwhile, speaking about the game itself, Moore said that it served its purpose, adding, “It was a good workout against a really good opposition… I was pleased with bits on and off the ball.

“If I was critical of them in the areas then it’d be the two lapses of concentration - which was self-inflicted for the goals - and when we had chances we weren’t ruthless enough.

“That’s part of our preseason training that needs a bit of work, in terms of getting the final touches, but in terms of the performance, and the levels, and the work, against this kind of opposition, I was pleased with the group.

“I knew the opposition would test, but such was our work that we made it into an open game.”

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