The number of Sheffield Wednesday’s walking wounded is terrifying - Joe Crann’s Owls column

At no point this season has Darren Moore been able to pick his strongest 18-man squad. At every turn there’s been at least one key player on the sidelines, and things don’t seem to be getting any better.

Give or take – given that some may have just been selection decisions – but Wednesday players have missed around 140 matches between them due to various injury concerns, and it’d be quicker to list those who haven’t had spells on the sidelines rather than those who have.

But I’ll go ahead anyway…

There have been hamstrings and calves, joint troubles and concussion, ankle problems and broken toes. There have also been players missing with illness and Covid-19 isolation and more – I didn’t include those in the 140.

In League One Tyreece John-Jules and Harlee Dean played one game before they picked up injuries, Lewis Gibson has played a total of 90 minutes, Josh Windass has made nine matchday squads, Sam Hutchinson is back but missed a large part of the season, while Massimo Luongo missed chunks and is now being managed in order to avoid any further problems.

Dominic Iorfa hasn’t played since Lincoln City back in October, George Byers has managed 90 minutes just twice after having issues of his own, Olamide Shodipo has missed at least 10 games due to injury and Florian Kamberi had to fly back to Switzerland to go have work done late last year.

Chey Dunkley looked to be over his troubles and became a bedrock in defence before picking up a hamstring problem just before the turn of the year, and Dennis Adeniran’s season has now been cut short after he was forced to go under the knife. Lee Gregory joined the list recently, while the severity of it is unknown at this point.

Marvin Johnson, who has had to stand in at centre back, missed a handful of games in November, and even the robust Callum Paterson missed a couple with concussion and a knock picked up against Oxford United. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has been almost ever-ready – but a bad one against Morecambe could see him out for a bit now.

Funnily enough, the four most available players this season are the ones who have spent the most time at Hillsborough in recent years, with Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer and Joe Wildsmith all making 26+ league matchday squads, and Jack Hunt – whose only major issue has been a hand injury – has made the 18-man on 25 occasions.

It’s now at a point where, even with the quality available in Wednesday’s squad, a successful season should be seen as a real achievement…

You take a Luongo, or an Iorfa, or a Windass, or a Hutchinson (the four have played only 40 of 112 league games between them this season) out of any side and they’ll struggle – whereas Moore has missed those players and then some.

The Owls boss is doing the right thing by launching an investigation in the matter, I’ve never covered a club with this kind of situation before, however the worry is that any major fix will come too soon to aid their efforts in 2021/22.

Wing comments honestly on Hillsborough and Boro spells following exit