Sheffield Wednesday's fresh injury blow with duo ruled out - Josh Windass and George Byers latest

Wednesday lost Mallik Wilks and Reece James during the 3-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Monday afternoon, and now it’s been confirmed that the pair will both be missing this weekend, with the latter facing another spell on the sidelines as he recovers.

Wilks had looked bright going forward in the first half at Hillsborough before coming off, while James was being used in a central role in midfield given the other injuries sustained to the likes of George Byers and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

Speaking to the media today, Darren Moore explained that neither player will be able to face Burton, and while Wilks could be considered for the trip to Bristol Rovers there is only a ‘small chance’ that James will feature again this season.

“We don’t anticipate Mallik being available for this weekend with the issue that he’s got,” Moore explained. “We’ll see how he is and have a look at him over the next 48 hours… It’s a completely different issue to before, we’ve given it an initial assessment. He says he feels better.

“Reece James is an impact injury, and it’s one that’s going to keep him out for some weeks. It may see him not really feature until probably the backend of the season. It’s a tackle, contact, it happens in games. It’s something we have to accept.”

Meanwhile, the Owls boss gave an update on both Byers and Josh Windass as questions remain over their return to action, explaining that they are more hopeful with Windass than his midfield teammate.

He said, "With Josh we’ve always been hopeful and expectant, but with George it’s probably longer. George’s was a muscle injury, so we can’t take the risk with him around his hamstring.

“In terms of Josh we’re treating the symptoms, and with him if the symptoms improve then within a day he could get back to training.”

There was good news, however, with regards to Michael Smith as Moore confirmed that he’s now available to start at the Pirelli Stadium if required after he recovered from his own recent injury.

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