Danny Rohl has explained why Jeff Hendrick has been left out of the registered Sheffield Wednesday squad.
Sheffield Wednesday confirmed their latest squad list after the January window slammed shut.
New signings James Beadle, Kristian Pedersen, Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo have taken up four vital spots after completing loan moves to Hillsborough, while the likes of Momo Diaby and Marvin Johnson have been named after being left out at the start of the campaign.
New additions mean some players have had to be left out though, with Lee Gregory, Jeff Hendrick, Juan Delgado and Callum Paterson missing.
The latter two are likely to be registered once they return from their long-term injuries, while the former two have been left out after struggling to make an impact this season.
Hendrick has only made five starts in the Championship since joining the Owls and while he had spent the last couple of months sidelined with an injury, he made his return from the bench in the FA Cup defeat to Coventry City.
Despite featuring in the Cup, the midfielder won’t have the chance to help out with Sheffield Wednesday’s bid to stay in the Championship just yet.
Rohl has now explained his decision to leave Hendrick out. Speaking to The Star, he said: “He played some minutes in the cup which was good, there is a learning also from my side that you have an FA Cup list and a league list.
“We have seven loans and so we have to make decisions, this is part of the reason why (Hendrick has been left off the list).
“He is still involved and I think maybe when I look to the next 15 games it could be that he is helpful. He has trained, he is professional. All of my players have taken the situation how it is. This is not normal, when I compare this to my stations before, you have players who are disappointed and they show this. But my group is fantastic, it is outstanding what they are doing. It’s great to see.”
Why hasn’t Jeff Hendrick returned to Newcastle?
Danny Rohl opted to only register 22 players, so still has three available positions to add to further into the campaign.
This gives Jeff Hendrick an opportunity to force his way back into the squad, though could well be competing for the final spot if Juan Delgado and Callum Paterson are quickly brought back in when fit.
It’s unclear how much Sheffield Wednesday contribute to Hendrick’s wages, but it is thought he rakes in a mouth-watering £35,000-per-week.
It seems like a huge waste for the Owls to be coughing up any portion of that, especially when he may well not even play another league game for them.
It’s baffling as to why he didn’t just return to Newcastle United in January, but is now instead a burden on the club’s finances for another few months.