Sam Hutchinson hasn’t made an appearance for Sheffield Wednesday since January after being frozen out of the first-team by Garry Monk. Initial reports suggested the two players had a fallout which led to his exile, but Monk has always insisted his decision came down to football reasons.
Jonty Colman and Dom Howson of Examiner Live were asked about the reasoning behind Hutchinson’s omission in a Q&A, and responded: “The local media have repeatedly asked Monk about Hutchinson’s omission. As far as I am aware, there has been no fall out between Monk and Hutchinson.
Where will Sheffield Wednesday finish in the Championship?
1st - 6th
7th - 14th
15th - 21th
22th - 24th
“It is Monk’s call, (he) has one eye on the future. Hutchinson is 30, out of contract in the summer and his injury track is well-documented. It is hard to build a team around the defensive midfielder.” Dropping Hutchinson makes no sense from Monk if the decision wasn’t personal, however.
Wednesday are in woeful form in 2020. Only Hull City (5) have amassed fewer points in the Championship than the Owls (9) since the turn of the year and only Hull (29) have conceded more goals than Monk’s side (24).
They’ve been short on viable options in midfield too, having lost Kieran Lee and Massimo Luongo to injury while Joey Pelupessy struggled for consistency, so dropping Hutchinson has actively harmed the side.
How are the 31-year-old’s injury woes cause for his omission when he’s made 24 appearances this season? Hutchinson (1795) has racked up more minutes of playing time in the Championship than Lee (1367), Luongo (820), Pelupessy (690), so blaming his availability doesn’t add up.
Before being exiled, Hutchinson had missed only five league games. He had a yellow card suspension in October, picked up a calf injury in November and had another yellow card suspension in December. He’s been available for most of the season.
Wednesday have picked up two wins from their last 14 league outings, having conceded three or more goals in four of their last five. Would they really fare any worse with Hutchinson in the side?
