Sheffield Wednesday’s injury crisis has shown no sign of ceasing.
Sheffield Wednesday are likely to have 14 first team players missing for Saturday’s trip to Barnsley, Owls manager Jos Luhukay revealed to the BBC at a press conference on Thursday.
Marco Matias [knee] is the latest Wednesday player set for a spell on the sidelines, while Glenn Loovens and Jacob Butterfield missed training this week.
With Daniel Pudil suspended and no sign of the 10 others – bar Tom Lees, who is expected to play for Wednesday’s Under-23s next week – who have missed much of the past month or more, Luhukay was asked whether there was scope to sign free agents in the coming weeks.
However, the Dutchman delivered a definitive response. “No,” he said, prompting the BBC’s Andy Giddings into a change of topic.
There had been speculation – albeit on social media – that some Sheffield Wednesday players were not being considered for first team selection due to appearance-related clauses in their contracts.
However, when pressed on the matter, Luhukay said: “I’m not speaking about inside information about the contracts [of] the players. I can only speak about the injuries and maybe how long they are away from training with the team.”
Wednesday travel to Barnsley on Saturday, knowing that defeat against the Reds could leave them in 18th position – and firmly in the mix for relegation.
The Owls have failed to beat any of the teams below them in the league this season, although they did inflict a 3-1 defeat on 18th-placed Reading in the FA Cup fourth round.
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