A Sheffield Wednesday fan favourite is now ‘a doubt’ to face Swansea City after the international break.
Sheffield Wednesday head into the international break in a pretty miserable state, having lost back-to-back games and endured their worst defeat in almost ten years at the weekend.
The Owls conceded six goals at the hands of Ipswich Town, and what may be even worse than the defeat was the withdrawals of Barry Bannan and Ian Poveda.
Bannan was taken off at half-time, while Poveda only lasted eight minutes of the second half before he had to be replaced due to injury too.
After the game, Danny Rohl had said: “They could be a risk for the Swansea game, but the good thing is that we have one week where we can recover, and then a second week – but we then have a game on the Friday and the Monday.”
Since then, it has been confirmed that Poveda has withdrawn from the Colombia squad as they prepare to face Spain and Romania, while The Star journalist Joe Crann has now reported that he is a ‘doubt’ to face Swansea City after the international break too.
Can Sheffield Wednesday cope without Ian Poveda?
The winger has been ‘excellent’ since joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January and will be a huge loss if he isn’t available for Swansea, while it is unclear if he would be fit to face Middlesbrough a few days later.
The likes of Callum Paterson and Josh Windass could return by then though so may give Danny Rohl some further options out wide, while it is Bannan’s absence that could cause a major problem after the break.
The Owls’ only other senior midfielder is Momo Diaby, who is definitely far from the high standards of Bannan this season.
Rohl will be hoping the international break allows Bannan to rest and recover, as he is going to be vital in the final eight games of the campaign.
The Yorkshire outfit failed to beat two of the toughest teams in the Championship in their last two games, but they still have the likes of Norwich and West Brom to get past if they are to stay up.
They also have huge six-pointers against QPR and Stoke City in April, which could potentially prove to be the difference between Championship football and relegation back to League One.