Why Sheffield Wednesday’s Saido Berahino surprisingly left Burundi camp early

The 28-year-old has got eight goals and assists in his last eight games for the Owls as he finds his feet in Wednesday colours, but was unable to play in the 4-1 win over Cheltenham after being recalled to the national team by Jimmy Ndayizeye.

Berahino was made captain for the 1-0 loss to Bahrain over the weekend, but was then not in the squad at all for the win over Liberia – and it turns out that that was always part of the plan.

It was revealed on Wednesday that the striker had returned early from international camp with the Swallows, and The Star understands that it was pre-agreed that he would only play in the first game due to the nature of the Owls’ Play-Off push.

It’s thought that Berahino wants to play as big a part as possible for Darren Moore’s side in their efforts to secure a spot in the top six this season, and therefore had an agreement in place that he would miss the Cheltenham game before returning early to best prepare for the visit of AFC Wimbledon this weekend.

His early return from Burundian camp means that the striker has had extra days to work with his Owls teammates ahead of the Dons clash, and Darren Moore will be delighted to get one of his most in-form attackers back through the door at Middlewood Road so early.

It’s the sort of attitude and commitment to the cause that Wednesday fans will like to see, and the agreement from the Burundian side follows a similar one from the Northern Irish national team to allow Bailey Peacock-Farrell to play in their second international – which they lost 1-0 to Hungary - rather than the win over Luxembourg.

Wednesday face Mark Bowen’s side on Saturday afternoon at 3pm as they seek to consolidate their place inside the Play-Off places in League One after moving up to sixth last weekend with another big home win.

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