Barry Bannan’s injury proves that Sheffield Wednesday made a huge mistake during the January transfer window.
Sheffield Wednesday approached the January window with a lot of dead wood, with the likes of Lee Gregory and Reece James managing only 21 appearances between them.
They were also desperate to bolster their squad with players who could help them win promotion – so it was expected that we could see the door swinging both ways by deadline day.
The Owls allowed Tyreeq Bakinson to leave the club after struggling for minutes, and in turn, were linked with a move for West Ham’s Conor Coventry.
However, the midfielder instead ended up joining Bakinson at Charlton Athletic, leaving Sheffield Wednesday light in the middle of the park.
So when George Byers also left the club on loan to Blackpool, supporters were left wincing at the possibility of being left short for the remainder of the campaign.
Barry Bannan and Will Vaulks had been excellent in recent months, but their only back-up has been Momo Diaby, who appears to be far from the level that his elder teammates can reach.
If Bannan and Vaulks could play the whole campaign then there would be no problem, but the former was taken off injured against Ipswich Town yesterday and could now face ‘weeks’ on the sidelines.
This leaves Danny Rohl with very few options to patch up his midfield and could leave both fans and George Byers himself wondering why he was sent out in January.
Are Sheffield Wednesday missing George Byers?
The ‘excellent‘ 27-year-old made 17 appearances for the Owls this season and could have been vital for a huge final run-in at Hillsborough.
Even two months after leaving the club on loan, Byers has made the third-most interceptions in the Sheffield Wednesday squad (30) and the sixth-most passes blocked (21).
Byers’ presence certainly wouldn’t have made up for Bannan’s absence, but it could well have plastered over the cracks and put in a lot of commitment and hard work to contribute to the Owls’ safety.
The Frenchman has only managed two starts all season but will be thrown straight in at the deep end in what is a potential point of the campaign.
Danny Rohl’s side may end up regretting letting him go, or at least not bringing in a replacement, but now Momo Diaby will have huge responsibility on his shoulders to try and impress and earn himself that permanent switch to the club this summer.