Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has hinted at a timeframe for the return of Momo Diaby.
Diaby has been out since August, after injuring his leg 65 minutes into his debut, a 1-0 home loss to Preston North End.
He joined the Owls in the summer in a season-long loan deal from Portimonense in the top flight of Portugal.
However, it looks like he is starting to get close to a return.
27-year-old given timeframe as he nears return
Speaking to The Sheffield Star, Rohl has said the plan for Diaby is to get him playing for the under-21s first.
“It’s step by step now, he’s had his first training session out on the pitch to start running, and this is the process. We’ll see how far he is, and when he’s ready to play again then it’s about getting some minutes in the U21s and seeing how good his performances are. Step by step he’ll come back to the first team…
“It’s important that all players are fit because I demand a lot of things, and with my intensity we need fit players. We need players who can run a lot, sprint a lot, so after a long injury you need the time to recover before coming back in good shape.”
Diaby to struggle to get in the team upon return
It has been an unfortunate first few months at Hillsborough for Diaby.
The Frenchman has not been able to make an impact so far in his time at Wednesday, so will be eager to get going as soon as possible.
The 27-year-old is primarily a defensive midfielder, so would provide more healthy competition for the midfield positions currently held by Barry Bannan and George Byers in Rohl’s side.
With Bannan a more advanced midfielder, it’s Byers’ spot that Diaby will be targeting once he returns.
It may be a struggle though, with Byers picking up in form, after being praised for his ‘silky’ and ‘incisive’ performance at the weekend against Bristol City.