David Bates is enduring a nightmarish stint at Sheffield Wednesday after struggling for playing time since his loan move from Hamburg.
The 23-year-old’s only appearance for Wednesday came in their EFL Cup win over Rotherham United (August 28, 2019) and he hasn’t made the matchday squad in any competition since September.
At the start of the season, Bates was an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Luton Town (August 20), 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers (August 31), 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town (September 15) and 1-1 draw with Fulham (September 21).
According to Dom Howson of the Sheffield Star, the Scotland international is training with the u23s and looks unlikely to return to the first-team before the season comes to a close. He last represented the reserves in their 2-0 win over Barnsley (February 18).
It speaks volumes about Bates’ relationship with Monk that he’s still frozen out of the first-team despite the Owls picking up only five points from a possible 30. Wednesday have conceded 18 goals in their last 10 but the 23-year-old still isn’t being considered in defence.
