What Sheffield Wednesday caretaker boss Neil Thompson said about Andre Green's absence against Wycombe Wanderers

Neil Thompson, the Sheffield Wednesday caretaker manager, has revealed why recent recruit Andre Green was not named in the squad to face Wycombe Wanderers last night.
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The 22-year-old winger, who was released by Aston Villa last summer, has started just two games and been an unused substitute in the three other matches since being picked up by the Owls on a free transfer last month.

And when his name didn’t feature on the nine-man bench for the crunch relegation clash with the Chairboys, questions were raised by some supporters on social media about his whereabouts.

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But speaking to the media after his side’s 2-0 victory over Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe side, Thompson said the Solihull-born wing man had missed out because he had been struggling with a sore achilles – but hopes the injury is ‘not too serious’.

“We’ll have a few sore bodies after tonight, but it’s important we rest up for Saturday,” said Thompson.

“Andre Green has a bit of a sore Achilles, it probably comes from training on the hard grounds.

"We’ve had icy conditions, so we’ve been training on astroturf a little bit, which does cause one or two problems, but hopefully it’s not too serious.

Sheffield Wednesday's January window signing Andre Green missed last night's win over Wycombe Wanderers through injury. Photo: Tim Goode/PA Wire.Sheffield Wednesday's January window signing Andre Green missed last night's win over Wycombe Wanderers through injury. Photo: Tim Goode/PA Wire.
Sheffield Wednesday's January window signing Andre Green missed last night's win over Wycombe Wanderers through injury. Photo: Tim Goode/PA Wire.

"It just needs a bit of time to settle down.”

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The caretaker boss, who has guided the Owls out of the Championship relegation zone following last night’s win, also provided an update on Massimo Luongo’s fitness.

Luongo, who has been out for much of the season with a knee injury, ‘tweaked his thigh’ in training last week and missed the trip to Millwall on Saturday and sat out the Wycombe game.

On the Australian’s possible return to action, Thompson said: “Massimo was a bit more positive when I spoke to him yesterday, so hopefully in the next week or two we’ll get a better steer on it.”

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