Ryan Lowe and Keith Treacy are both fit to return to the squad for Wednesday’s home clash with Carlisle on Saturday.

Lowe missed the draw at Colchester with a groin injury while Treacy was sidelined through illness. Now Dave Jones could be tempted to give wideman Treacy a place in the starting line-up, with either Michail Antonio or Jermaine Johnson dropping to the bench.

Skipper Rob Jones was available after suspension but did not figure at Colchester and Reda Johnson (thigh) and Julian Bennett (hamstring) are both doubtful.

Wednesday need three points to ensure we still have a chance of an automatic promotion place going into the final two league games of the season, while play-off chasing Carlisle will be looking to bounce back with at least a point after their midweek defeat at Stevenage. 

* If we have to settle for the play-offs then, with third place guaranteed, we will be away to the sixth place side on Friday, May 11 with the return at S6 on Monday, May 14.

Dave Jones has vowed that Wednesday will battle on for the second automatic promotion spot . . . despite falling four points behind Sheff U with just three games remaining.

After seeing the Owls drop two points in a 1-1 draw at Colchester, Jones said: “There’s still a long way to go. We have to rely on others slipping up but that has been the case since I first came here.

“There are three games left and we still have a chance of automatic promotion.

“We don’t need lifting  because we are in form and are third in the table. This club is flying. We fight on and will do so until it’s over.

“If we have to go down the play-off route then we will – but until then we will stay after second place.”

Jones felt Wednesday didn’t produce quite enough to earn all three points at Colchester and said we tried too many long-range efforts, instead of playing the ball into the penalty area.

He added that luck was not on our side, saying that TV replays showed Michail Antonio to be level when he netted a last-gasp ‘winner’, only to be ruled offside.

Keith Treacy missed tha game through illness, Ryan Lowe was out with a groin strain and Julian Bennett was another absentee after suffering a hamstring strain in training.

Wednesday’s hopes of automatic promotion received a big setback after we could only draw 1-1 at Colchester on Saturday.

With Sheff U winning 3-1 at home to ten-man Leyton Orient, we are four points behind them, with both of us having just three games remaining. Our city rivals have a superior goal difference and now need a maximum of six points from their last three games to pip us to the second promotion place.

Charlton are promoted after winning 1-0 at Carlisle.

At Colchester, we fell behind to an Ian Henderson goal after just three minutes and, an excellent chance for Nile Ranger aside, we rarely looked like getting back into the game during the first half.

Miguel Llera gave fresh hope in a much-improved second-half performance when he hit an equaliser six minutes after the restart but, despite much Wednesday pressure, we failed to get that all-important winner . . . being foiled in the last minute when Michail Antonio netted, only to be ruled offside.

Mark Beevers gets a place in the starting line-up for today’s trip to Colchester in an otherwise unchanged Owls team.

Beevers replaces Julian Bennett at left back with Bennett dropping out of the squad.

Ryan Lowe are Rob Jones both out of the squad and Keith Treacy is reported to be ill.

Full line-up: Bywater; Buxton, Llera, Batth, Beevers; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J. Johnson; Madine, Ranger. Subs: Weaver, D.Jones, Prutton, M. Jones, O’Grady

Dave Jones has to decide whether to recall skipper Rob Jones for Wednesday’s trip to Colchester on Saturday.

Jones has missed the last two games through suspension, and the Owls have won both matches – with Miguel Llera and Danny Batth striking up a good partnership in the centre of our defence.

Reda Johnson is expected to still be ruled out with a thigh injury as the Owls look to make it five wins in a row in the battle for an automatic promotion place.

The London Owls send best wishes for a speedy recovery to former Wednesday boss Trevor Francis, who has suffered a heart attack.

He was taken to hospital in Birmingham on Friday after suffering severe chest pains, which turned out to be a heart attack.

Trevor played for us under Ron Atkinson in the early nineties and then took over the reins as manager, guiding us to two Wembley cup finals in 1993 and into Europe.

Wednesday fans snapped up our 1,700 tickets for the trip to Brentford within an hour of going on sale at Hillsborough on Tuesday morning.

With the Bees also making the game all-ticket for their fans, it means that unless they have a change of heart nearer the matchday of April 28, it rules out Wednesdayites from getting any further tickets for the last away league game of the season.

Meanwhile, Wednesday slipped back to third place again after Sheff U’s 5-2 win at Rochdale on Tuesday evening.

A hat-trick of headers took Wednesday back to second spot in division one as we completed a six-point Easter haul with a
3-0 win over Oldham on Monday.

We were far from convincing in a lifeless first 40 minutes, riding our luck at times at the back, before Gary Madine struck two minutes from the break as he nodded home following an excellent run and cross from man-of-the-match Miguel Llera.

Llera then grabbed the all-important second goal on 67 minutes, heading home at the near post from a pinpoint free kick by sub Keith Treacy and then another sub – Ryan Lowe – scored with his frst touch on 80 minutes, meeting Treacy’s cross at the far post to seal the points.

Manager Dave Jones said afterwards: “I have nothing but admiration for the players, they were absolutely magnificent and certainly earned their corn today.

“We have had two really hard games in three days and those lads gave absolutely everything until they have dropped.”

He added: “It wasn’t the most fluent performance but geting the three points was all that mattered today.”

Lewis Buxton was subbed at half-time as a precautionary measure after taking a heavy knock just before the interval.

We now hope that struggling Rochdale can spring a surprise when they entertain Sheff U on Tuesday evening while leaders Charlton kept the eight-point gap on us with an unconvincing 1-0 home win over Walsall on Monday.

Julian Bennett replaces injured Reda Johnson in only change to Wednesday line-up for Oldham game.