One Sheffield Wednesday star was absent from the 1-1 home draw vs Preston.
The Owls were held to just a point at Hillsborough against Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End.
Sheffield Wednesday initially went down in the first half, however managed to get back on level terms courtesy of Michael Smith, who added to his tally as the Owls’ top scorer so far in the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Despite the top performance by Owls striker Smith, it was clear that Sheffield Wednesday were somewhat toothless in the final third, and the penalty miss by Josh Windass certainly epitomised that.
It is clear that Danny Rohl was not happy with his sides’ efforts, and some of that could potentially come down to the absence of one key man, with the German boss suggesting that it ‘could have been’ different if he was available for the game.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl outlines Callum Paterson absence vs Preston
The Owls were without the versatile and experienced Callum Paterson in the plucky draw against Preston North End, and the German boss has now revealed the extent of the injury that kept the ‘vastly experienced’ star out of the squad for the game.
Speaking to The Star, he said: “Pato had an injury, a knee injury in training.
“Let’s see, at first it looks not so good but also not so bad. He needs a bit of recovery time, we will see now when he is back. We know this with the schedule, in one week even if it is a small injury a player can miss three games. All the other guys are so far OK.
“It could have been [different if Patterson played]. We could have brought a second target player in front who can fight. We wanted Smudge to work alongside Jamal like how it worked against Derby. For my taste I had to make too many changes today.”
Like Rohl said, Sheffield Wednesday ace Paterson would have been crucial against Preston, and it was clear that his presence was missing on the pitch.
Callum Paterson absence showed just how key he is for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday’s Paterson has been in-and-out of the side so far in the 2024/25 Championship season, with him notching just six substitute appearances in the league.
However, the impact he can offer from off-the-bench simply cannot be underestimated, with him clearly showing that last time out against Derby County, where he notched an incredible assist to set up Jamal Lowe for the winner at Pride Park.
The Owls attacker is simply perfect at ruffling feathers whenever he comes on for the last 10 minutes, and it was abruptly clear that that edge was missing in the sides’ performance against Preston.