Sheffield Wednesday will be without Fernando Forestieri against Brentford due to a “knock to the knee”, said Garry Monk in his pre-match press conference. The 29-year-old was substituted as a precaution at half-time in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic, but it appears his injury is a bit more serious.
Monk told the Sheffield Star: “Fernando picked up that niggle, knock to the knee, that’s why he came off. It’s still a bit niggly, it’s hard to put a timeframe on it, you’re going off the player and it could be anything between seven and 10 days.
“So he’s very unlikely for the weekend. He’s reacting well, he’s getting the right treatment and he’s being looked after. Hopefully it won’t be too long.” Forestieri’s injury is bad timing as he’d only recently returned to the starting lineup.
The centre-forward’s appearance against Charlton was his first start in the Championship since August. If he’s out for another week, Forestieri could not only miss this weekend’s Brentford clash but also Sheff Wed’s trip to face Derby County on Wednesday.
His injury wasn’t initially treated as serious. Monk was hoping Forestieri would just miss the second-half against Charlton and would return to face Brentford. Now, though, he’ll be forced into making a change to his squad.
Nevertheless, the Wednesday manager isn’t short of options. Adam Reach replace Forestieri against Charlton and could be given the nod on Saturday. Jacob Murphy also came off the bench last weekend, however, and may be in contention of returning to the starting XI too. Time will tell who Monk chooses.
Should Adam Reach or Jacob Murphy replace Fernando Forestieri against Brentford?
Adam Reach
