What Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk has said about defender's future

Garry Monk, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, has revealed that on-loan defender David Bates is unlikely to play for the club again.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The 23-year-old centre-back hasn’t featured under Monk and has only started one game for Wednesday, a second round Carabao Cup tie against Rotherham United in August, since joining on a season-long loan from German outfit Hamburg last summer.

Bates suffered a hip injury earlier in the season but has been training with the club’s under 23s since he returned to fitness.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And speaking to the media before Wednesday’s clash with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough on Saturday, Monk explained why the former Rangers man does not figure in his plans – especially at a time when his side have been struggling defensively.

“These are the decisions I have to make,” said Monk. “Someone will always be left out, that’s just the nature of when you have the squad of this size.

“In squads in general there will always be players that are left out, so you make the decision on the players that you think are the best to play.

“There are various reasons for that and he’s found himself in a position where he's not been involved in the squads, but that’s the decisions you have to make.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You do that every single season at every single club. So there’s nothing strange about that – it’s just the decisions I have to make.”

And when asked if he could feature before the season’s close, Monk said: “Not at this moment. Again, you never know and we’ll see how things go.”