Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl says this 31-year-old is now facing a late fitness test ahead of Rotherham United.
Sheffield Wednesday go up against Rotherham United in the Championship on Saturday.
It’s a huge game for the Owls following a positive run of form, with Danny Rohl‘s side beating Bristol City 2-1 last weekend, having now won three of their last four.
The gap to safety remains three points for Sheffield Wednesday, who face a Rotherham side who’ve had just one win since October.
Leam Richardson’s side are 16 points adrift at the bottom of the table and have lost their last six going into this weekend.
Michael Ihiekwe facing late fitness ‘test’ ahead of Rotherham United
Sheffield Wednesday have their share of players out for this weekend’s game against Rotherham United.
Di’Shon Bernard is suspended, whilst Josh Windass and Juan Delgado remain sidelined, but Akin Famewo and Momo Diaby are thought to be closing in on returns to action.
Speaking to The Star ahead of Saturday though, Rohl revealed that 31-year-old centre-back Ihiekwe is now facing a late fitness check.
The Owls boss said:
“Let’s have a look after the afternoon today. We will make a test for him, hopefully tomorrow he is back into training and he is available for the game.”
Former Millers man Ihiekwe has featured 16 times in the Championship this season, though he’s started five of Wednesday’s last six games in all competitions.
Sheffield Wednesday facing defensive crisis for Rotherham
With Bernard not available and now Ihiekwe potentially missing out as well, Rohl seems to have a bit of a defensive crisis on his hands for this weekend.
Whether or not Famewo is fit enough to be involved in the team remains to be seen, so numbers at centre-back seem particularly light with Bambo Diaby the only other available centre-back.
Should Rohl stick with a back-five this weekend, we could see a middle three of Liam Palmer, Diaby, and potentially Dominic Iorfa who’s returned to action in the last few weeks.
So it looks set to be a makeshift defence on Saturday. But against a Rotherham side who’ve scored 30 goals this season (albeit more than Wednesday’s 28), the Owls should still hold plenty of hope that they can keep Rotherham at bay, and knick all three points at the other end.
Kick off is at 3pm on Saturday.