Tom Lees is expected to be back in the starting line-up for our important home game with Ipswich on Tuesday evening.
Lees came on as a substitute at half-time in Saturday’s woeful 4-0 defeat at Bristol City, his first Championship action since we played at Ipswich more than three months ago.
At that time, he finally succumbed to an on-going groin injury and had been sidelined until the return at Bristol.
Jos Luhukay said after Lees’ return: “Before he came back, he trained a lot and played twice with the under 23s.
“This was the next step, I am happy and he is happy he can come back and help the team. He is ready to start.”
Lees came on for Daniel Pudil on Saturday, Pudil having suffered an ankle injury in the first half.
We now have two home Championship games inside five days and, with just two wins in the last 19 league matches, will be desperate to get six points to ease the mounting concerns of being sucked into a relegation fight.
Luhukay, with just one victory in nine league outings at the helm, also has to decide how to try to find a winning formula at S6.
With the injury list showing no immediate signs of reducing – Lees aside – Luhukay is greatly restricted in what he can change.
Experienced players like George Boyd, David Jones, Jacob Butterfield and Jordan Rhodes were in the starting line-up when we exited the FA Cup without a whimper in the Swansea replay.
Unsurprisingly, none of the quartet figured from the start against Bristol City but the performance was just as bad as at Swansea … if not worse.
After Ipswich, it’s Bolton at Hillsborough on Saturday and, whatever happens to the other strugglers in a busy week for the Championship, anything less than four points from the two matches will keep us looking over our shoulder in the relegation run-in.