Danny Röhl has returned positive news on the injury rehabilitation of two of Sheffield Wednesday’s most-missed players, with hopes one could make a return to contention head of their original timescale.
Dominic Iorfa and Akin Famewo are both out with long-term injuries but are a long way down their mutual road to recovery, with the Owls looking thin on the ground at the back at current. Max Lowe has deputised at centre-half to good effect alongside Michael Ihiekwe in recent weeks after the season-ending injury suffered by Di’Shon Bernard, with rookie youngster Gabriel Otegbayo serving as back-up.
In what is a remarkable concentration of Owls injury issues to one area of the pitch, Famewo has been out since October and Iorfa since early January. Röhl had initially explained a plan to have both players aim towards the March international break for their return to football and revealed a consideration that the club would seek to organise a behind-closed-doors friendly to help facilitate their return.
But it seems Iorfa’s potential comeback could be pulled forward, with a focus being placed on his activity in training this week with regard to the potential having him back in contention before the break, which commences after the Sheffield United clash on March 16. Nothing, Röhl stressed, is close to confirmed.
“We are on a schedule,” Röhl told The Star late last week. “The only thing with Dom is that we first said we would give him two extra weeks because it was a second injury in a short time. Normally with this injury you can carry on earlier but it was a decision from our side to give him a little bit more time.
“The good thing is that he trained now this week and it is now about next week, making sure he can go again. We will train with him on a bigger pitch, where he comes through the acceleration and the longer sprints. It is good to see him and in the short term hopefully by the international break we will have one more option.”
Famewo’s comeback is less clear-cut with the scale of his October injury at Portsmouth. Röhl suggested the former Norwich City man was still very much on-track in terms of his rehabilitation and that he could even feature in senior training ahead of the international break – though there is expected to be a period of scaling-up in his match fitness. As with Iorfa, his condition as he approaches a potential comeback will be carefully monitored.
Röhl said: “With Akin he has a review from the doctor and he is still to wait for 16 weeks and after that he is allowed and can go to the team training. Maybe 10 days before the international break he can start to train with the team, but this is the best case. You never know of the reaction after the first training session with the team, but it goes in the right direction.”
Discussion about this post