Why Massimo Luongo was missing for Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford…

Luongo has been a standout player for the Owls so far this season, putting in a number of fine performances wherever he has been utilised by Monk on the field.

For that reason, Wednesdayites were disappointed to see him missing for a big game against Brentford, and it has now been revealed that he’s dealing with a minor knee injury that he sustained while playing as a makeshift fullback in the 1-0 win over Birmingham City.

Monk, speaking after the Owls were beaten 2-1 by Brentford at Hillsborough on Wednesday evening, admitted that they’ve been very unlucky with injuries of late, but added that he hopes Luongo will be available again pretty soon.

Speaking to the media, he said, “Massimo did a tackle in the second half against Birmingham and just hyperextended his knee. We’ve had a bit of bad luck with injuries if I’m honest – they’ve all come in games, apart from Dom (Iorfa). But it’s just part of it, it is what it is.

“Massimo won’t be too long, but it’s still quite swollen so we’ll have to wait for that to go down – we don’t think it’s too serious.

“When you hyperextend and your knee locks. It’s jarred the knee and created swelling. In the next couple of days that should go down. It was a big loss, but that’s why we’ve got the squad.”

It’s a hectic period for SWFC right now as they face a lot of games in a short space of time, and there is no time to dwell on this week’s defeat as they turn their attentions to Luton Town on Saturday – thought it seems unlikely that Luongo will be able to feature.

There is, however, hope for the likes of Dominic Iorfa and Izzy Brown as they seek to get themselves back from their injuries and back in contention having missed the Owls’ last three games in the Championship with hamstring and knee niggles respectively.

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