Sheffield Wednesday’s Coventry City clash at risk as club deals with COVID-19 outbreak

The Owls were unable to name a full bench over the weekend, naming a young 15-man squad that saw a host of teenagers feature as they saw off Exeter City with a 2-0 victory.

A recent outbreak of COVID-19 saw the club close down their Middlewood Road training ground, which led to the fact that a number of first team players were unable to feature at St James Park, resulting in three debuts and plenty of minutes for a number of academy graduates.

The Star understands that players and staff at the club will be tested twice this week as they wait and see who they have available, though it is likely to be the round of testing on Friday before the game that ultimately decides whether the game against Coventry will go ahead or not.

While the FA Cup game was seen as a chance for the youngsters to have a run-out in a difficult season, Wednesday are unlikely to be as eager to put out a weakened side against the Sky Blues given their position down at the wrong end of the table.

The club had several players test positive for Coronavirus last week, and currently have others self-isolating after coming into contact with them, so it remains to be seen how many players they will have available.

Brentford, who don’t have an academy to call upon, had their next two games postponed this week, and Wednesday may find themselves in a similar position if they can’t field a strong enough team for two big games – against Coventry, and fellow strugglers, Wycombe Wanderers.

Meanwhile, there could also be a case made for the fact that, even if a player tests negative having previously tested positive last week, will he be able to complete two fixtures in quick succession?

Wednesday have followed all protocol since the club was hit with the COVID-19 situation this month, with players understood to be currently training at home until a decision is made regarding the safe reopening of the training ground.

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