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Sheffield Wednesday midfielder returns to training ahead of Manchester City clash

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According to the Sheffield Star, Massimo Luongo returned to training ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s FA Cup Fifth-Round meeting with Manchester City, but it remains to be seen if he’s fit enough for selection.

How will Sheffield Wednesday fare against Manchester City?

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Draw

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Luongo has missed Wednesday’s last nine games in all competitions, so he may not be ready to be thrown into the deep end. The 27-year-old could make his return at Brentford on Saturday, however.

He was initially suspended in mid-January after being red-carded if the Owls’ 5-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers and suffered a calf injury when he was due to return a month later.

The Australian international has made 21 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals. He’s racked up only 820 minutes of Championship football but will hope to make a bigger impact in the tail-end of the campaign.

In Luongo’s absence, Garry Monk has used Barry Bannan and Kieran Lee in midfield – Joey Pelupessy has been dropped due to poor form and Sam Hutchinson was exiled after an alleged fallout with Monk.

Wednesday’s FA Cup clash provides a welcome distraction from their debacle in the Championship but doesn’t come at the best time for any hope of an upset. The Owls have failed to win four of their last five games and conceded 10 goals in their previous four.

Man City have won four-in-a-row ahead of the midweek meeting and are coming off the back of their EFL Cup final triumph over Aston Villa. With Wednesday having lost five of their last seven home games while picking up just one win in their own backyard since December 2019, City are resounding favourites to come out on top at Hillsborough.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.