Sheffield Wednesday will be without Fernando Forestieri against Derby County. The 29-year-old was substituted in last month’s 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic and missed Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Brentford as a result.
Monk revealed that Forestieri is still out of action ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Derby and will need to be assessed as he may not return this week. He told the Sheffield Star: “It could possibly be a little bit longer (with Fernando). We will have to wait and see whether this week is going to be good for him or not. I have to keep assessing it.”
“We have to be careful (with Fernando). He has had inconsistency or so in the last two years. He had an inconsistent start (to this season) with being suspended for so long and in and out (of the team). We will assess him as we go along and see what happens.”
Forestieri has made 10 appearances across the board this season, scoring and creating two goals. He’s racked up just 312 minutes of football, having made just two appearances in the last four-and-a-half weeks and has stiff competition for places.
Time Up For Forestieri?
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Steven Fletcher, Atdhe Nuhiu and the returning Jordan Rhodes are all getting minutes over Forestieri while the Italian is sidelined, so he may have a point to prove when he’s fit again. Forestieri wasn’t a regular in the starting lineup before his injury either, so his absence is badly-timed.
That being said, Monk has plenty of attacking options in his place. Wednesday have scored five times in their last two games and could go third in the table with a win.
