Sheffield Wednesday’s Injury Crisis Worsens as Another Key Star Is Ruled Out Ahead of Hectic Christmas Schedule

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has revealed Yan Valery was struggling with a foot problem ahead of Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Preston North End at Hillsborough.

 

Despite twice taking the lead in the first half, the Owls were condemned to an eighth Championship home defeat of the season after North End substitute Mads Frøkjær-Jensen found the bottom corner from the edge of the ‘D’ just minutes after Charlie McNeill was denied a hat-trick from the penalty spot.

 

Wednesday were excellent for long periods of the game, producing some of the best attacking football that had been on show all season, but they ultimately ran out of steam and suffered a fourth defeat on the spin.

 

The Owls went into the game light on numbers, particularly at the back, with Max Lowe and Dominic Iorfa joining the list of absentees. While the latter missed out through suspension, Lowe was ruled out because of a hamstring problem.

 

And Pedersen, who was immensely proud of his side’s efforts in his post-match assessment, revealed that Valery, despite him completing the full 90 minutes, required painkillers to help him get through the clash with Paul Heckingbottom’s side.

 

Asked if Wednesday had encountered any further injury issues during the defeat to North End, Pedersen said: “I don’t know. Yan, I know he struggled before the game with his foot; he needed a lot of painkillers to survive in this game.

 

“They all try to do the maximum what they can. They deserve a day off tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday, and then we are ready for a four-day week before Blackburn.”

 

The absences of Iorfa and Lowe, coupled with the ongoing absences of Di’Shon Bernard and Ernie Weaver, plus the fact it was too big a risk for Liam Cooper to start for a second time in four days, meant Valery had to drop into the back-three after more than two months of consistently playing in midfield.

 

“We put Yan down [to centre-back],” Pedersen added. “He said, ‘Okay, I play No.6 now for a long time, but I will take this one and play the best I can at right centre-back as possible’.”