Danny Rohl has sent a ‘clear’ message to Sheffield Wednesday after Mallik Wilks was ruled out again.
Speaking to The Star, the Owls coach said that his players ‘need to be ready’ for his game after their draw with Leicester City.
Danny Rohl was hopeful that Sheffield Wednesday could cause an upset against the Championship leaders last night and they did exactly that.
The Yorkshire outfit picked up their first draw of the campaign as Jeff Hendrick netted the equaliser with only minutes of added-time remaining.
The result is extremely promising for Sheffield Wednesday, who have looked a lot more positive since Rohl arrived at the club. However, Mallik Wilks’ absence will be a huge blow after he was brought back into the team.
The striker was sidelined with a muscle injury back in April and had only made his first Championship start since in the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City.
Wilks was replaced by Bailey Cadamarteri last night though, and Rohl has now explained that the forward could be out for up to two months.
“He played 60 minutes and now he is injured with a long injury,” Röhl said. “He will be out for six to eight weeks.
“This is a clear message from my side to my players; we need to be physically fit for my game and my intensity. It is a real shame because he trained very well and he showed in the game what he can do. But you need to be ready for my game.
“At first we thought he was just a little bit tired. He didn’t train the last few days and that was the reason he wasn’t going to play, but we checked, we had an appointment and got the result and it was not good. He’s out again and we need to find a new solution. We have a big squad and we will go again.
“It is frustrating, it is disappointing. When you improve a player and you bring him back into the starting side and he plays just 60 minutes, it is a step back. He created some self-confidence, he was back and showed he could help us. But this is football. I have to deal with it, I have to find solutions.”
Who do Sheffield Wednesday turn to now?
Danny Rohl clearly had a lot of confidence in Mallik Wilks and it is a huge blow that he will be out, but they managed to pick up a huge draw yesterday without him.
The Owls defended really well against Leicester and will certainly pick up points if they can keep that up, while the goal front issue still needs solving.
However, the German manager claimed Michael Smith could be very close to returning and so would give him another option in attack. The 32-year-old is still Sheffield Wednesday’s top scorer this season with three goals, despite not making an appearance since the start of the month.