Sheffield Steelers given huge injury boost as team prepares for Nottingham Panthers clash

Evan Mosey is coming back from injury and should be available for the festive programme.

Coach Aaron Fox said he expected the Great Britain utility player to have completed his rehabilitation soon.

He said it would be like having a new player on the roster - the 33-year-old has been out since being injured playing against Nottingham Panthers on October 1.

When Scott Allen returns that will further boost Sheffield's options, too.

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Fox said Allen's injury is being closely monitored but he couldn't put an exact timeframe on his return.

Allen suffered a lower-body injury while skating in Saturday's win over Belfast Giants, missing Sunday's return fixture.

The impending return of the duo isn't putting any pressure on Fox to release one of his 'spare' imports, though.

"We still have got two guys on the Injury Reserve and we played with 14 imports (full complement) in our last game so I don't see any urgency from our side to do things right now with the injury situation," he said.

"When Mosey, Scott, and Oskar Östlund come back there will potentially be a conversation to be had but right now there is nothing to talk about."

Fox is more concerned with the immediate matter of preparing to take on the Panthers, on Saturday, in the first league match-up of the season.

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In their last two matches in the Challenge Cup, Steelers have won 7-4 and 7-3.

The Sheffield coach said Nottingham have wanted to "open it up a little bit" in previous games, although it remains to be seen if that style is changed with the return of Corey Neilson as head coach.

Fox expects them to come in and play "desperate hockey" - as Belfast Giants did so well last weekend.

Meanwhile, Jackson Whistle, whose man-of-the-match performance helped deliver a win at Sheffield Arena on Sunday, after losing there the previous night, has been talking about defying goal strikes for his Steeler brother Brandon.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: “He had a few good chances in the first game and I remember thinking I was not letting him score otherwise I’d never hear the end of it!

“To beat those guys, it was such a character win with such a short bench,” said Whistle.

Colby McAuley's short-side goal against Steelers last weekend has earned him the EIHL goal of the week award.