Sheffield Wednesday will be without Adam Reach against Birmingham City on Saturday, with Garry Monk admitting the 27-year-old is “still not ready.” Reach has been out of action since early-February with a toe injury, causing him to miss Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Barnsley (February 8), 1-0 defeat to Luton Town (February 12) and 3-0 defeat to Reading (February 15).
Reach has made 33 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring and creating nine goals. His last outing came in Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Millwall (February 1). The wide-man has often come in for Morgan Fox at left-back while providing over for Kadeem Harris and Jacob Murphy on the wing, so he’s been a useful player for Monk.
The Owls manager said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference: “Reach (is) still not ready and, again, hopefully we will see (him) sooner rather than later, I know (he is) progressing well but won’t be available for this week.” Whether the 27-year-old could return next week remains to be seen, however.
Reach’s injury is bad timing as Fox has been sidelined too, forcing Monk to play Liam Palmer, Fernando Forestieri and Moses Odubajo as makeshift left-backs. Palmer is likely to get the nod against Birmingham on Saturday as he’s the best option available to Monk.
