Sheffield Wednesday’s defensive tightrope after latest injury concern

The Owls lost Ben Heneghan to injury during the 1-1 draw with Lincoln City over the weekend, and while there has been no word on the severity of his issue it is something that his manager admitted he was worried about.

Even if it’s not serious, it seems unlikely that the towering defender will be able to face Joey Barton’s side on Wednesday evening, leaving Moore with a decision to make on his backline.

Heneghan’s injury will also have made the Owls boss even more relieved that Michael Ihiekwe didn’t pick up a booking at LNER Stadium, with the experienced centre back just one yellow card away from a one-match suspension.

Given their fresh injury concern as Heneghan likely joins both Akin Famewo and Reece James on the list of defenders unavailable, Moore has a decision to make – he could do a like-for-like replacement with Dominic Iorfa replacing the former AFC Wimbledon man, or he could swap things around by potentially using Liam Palmer as a central defender, or even reverting to a back four with Ihiekwe and McGuinness.

Ihiekwe has got four more games left to avoid another booking - and the consequent suspension - before the 19-game cut-off point, and with three defenders likely to be out of action for at least a while longer there will be hope that he can do just that.

The Owls take on Rovers at 8pm on Wednesday evening, with the rest of the division playing on Tuesday.

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