A key Sheffield Wednesday player is now facing a late fitness check ahead of the Yorkshire derby vs Leeds United on Friday night.
Sheffield Wednesday travel to Leeds United on Friday for what’s shaped up to be a very interesting clash at opposing ends of the Championship table.
The Owls beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 on Tuesday night; their fourth-straight win in the Championship which now brings them level on points with safety, but still in the drop zone.
Leeds United meanwhile sit in 3rd place of the table and have been in some fine form in the Championship; they’re unbeaten in 11, with 10 of those being wins.
Barry Bannan suffers head injury in win v Plymouth Argyle
Bannan was brought off at half-time in the win vs Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night.
Rohl said after the game that the 34-year-old, who’s now featured 32 times in the Championship this season, suffered a head injury.
Rohl though is hoping that Bannan is fit to start and play the Championship clash against Leeds United on Friday night, telling The Star:
“We have to check it. He has some pain in his head, but I spoke to him after the game and he said it was feeling better then. We’ll check it tomorrow, and hopefully he’s ok for Friday because that’d be helpful in the middle of the pitch. Having Barry Bannan on the pitch, we need him as the leader of the group, and yeah, I cross my fingers for him that he can play.
“I’ll have to speak to the doctors and physios, they know better than me what we have to do now, but sometimes it’s just a feeling – and that’s what we have to look at.”
Bannan absence would be huge blow for Sheffield Wednesday
Since joining the club way back in 2015, Bannan has barely missed a game for Sheffield Wednesday.
In all of his nine seasons playing at Hillsborough, injury has only kept him on the sidelines for a prolonged spell in one season; the 2017/18 campaign where he managed 29 league appearances.
In every season since, barring this ongoing season, the Scot has recorded 38 league appearances or more, which is a huge credit to the way he looks after himself and his body.
So Rohl will surely be expecting Bannan to shake off this injury and start in what is another huge game for the Owls.
If not, Rohl will have to call upon Momo Diaby who came off the bench to replace Bannan last night; he’s been inconsistent since returning from injury, but perhaps Diaby could start in Will Vaulks’ position, and then Vaulks drop deeper to replace Bannan.
They’ve come through this recent stretch of fixtures with the wins they needed, knowing that they now have two very tough games coming up against Leeds United and then Ipswich Town the following weekend.
But with so much wind in their sails, Leeds will be very wary of facing Wednesday right now, and in a Yorkshire derby under the lights and in front of the Sky Sports cameras, it should be a very feisty and entertaining occasion.