Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for a fresh start as they return to Championship action next week.
Despite an exceptional opening day victory over Plymouth Argyle, the Owls’ season has gone dramatically downhill in their previous three matches.
Sheffield Wednesday have now suffered three consecutive defeats and were most recently thrashed by Millwall, while they haven’t scored a goal since the win over the Pilgrims.
Danny Rohl will have been delighted to finally reach the international break and will use the time off to re-evaluate his squad and make the changes needed to turn things around.
The German will surely have to consider making some alterations to the starting line-up, having so far put faith into plenty of his new signings.
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Pol Valentin is surely set to start v QPR
There has already been calls for Pol Valentin and Marvin Johnson to return to the side, and it now looks like the former could get the chance next weekend.
It was reported over the weekend that Yan Valery had suffered a minor tear in his calf while training with Tunisia, which is likely to force him to the sidelines for a period of time.
Valentin is likely to replace the right-back, and while it’s unclear how long Valery will be out for, the Spaniard now has a huge opportunity to claim his starting spot back.
Valentin became a ‘fan favourite’ last season as he drastically improved in the second half of the campaign, making a key contribution to their survival.
The 27-year-old has spent a large chunk of the current season on the bench, but Valery’s recent form surely won’t make it too difficult for Valentin to earn his place back.
Wednesday have a very winnable game coming up next week as they host QPR at Hillsborough. The London outfit haven’t won since their opening fixture either, while they have conceded five goals in their last two outings.
This could be Valentin’s only real chance to get his starting spot back
It’s early days in the season and form is likely to change throughout, but Valentin really isn’t going to get a better chance to impress Rohl than he is in the upcoming weeks.
If the Owls can come out a much better team after the break and Valentin can replicate his form from the start of the year, then the head coach will surely be eager to keep him around.
Rohl may well have been planning to bring him back into the team anyway after recent results, but he may now be under less pressure if Valery is in the treatment room.
It will be interesting to see if Johnson is given a chance at left-back too, and whether Rohl will end up relying on a number of players who impressed last season.
The 35-year-old clearly has a good relationship with Valery from his time at Southampton though, so Valentin will have to put on some quality performances if he is to make himself undroppable.