Injury boost as Sheff Wed defender could return to face Blackburn, Monk says “he’s fine”
Sheffield Wednesday have received an injury boost ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Blackburn, with Tom Lees set to return after illness. The 29-year-old missed Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Leeds United (January 11), but Garry Monk says “he’s fine” after training in the week.
Monk told Dom Howson of the Sheffield Star: “He’s fine. He trained the day before the Leeds game but felt a bit empty and a bit weak. You have to judge those ones on whether, if he had to come on after five minutes at Leeds, would he be able to do it.
“He would have been able to do five or 10 minutes at the end of the game, but you want the ones on the bench to be able to come on after 30 seconds or a minute. In terms of that we felt he couldn’t quite do it but he’s been fine this week.”
In Lees’ absence, Julian Borner started alongside Dominic Iorfa in the Leeds victory. It remains to be seen if he’ll replace the former against Blackburn Rovers, however, as Monk may not want to change a winning side.
Lees has made 16 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals. He’s been a regular at centre-back when fit but has missed 12 games across the board due to injury already. Fortunately, Monk has depth in defence and experienced players to call upon.
Wednesday are currently sixth in the Championship table with 42 points from 27 matches and ended their three-game losing run with the victory last weekend. The Owls are big favourites to see past a Blackburn side enduring a five-game winless run.