Josh Windass and Michael Smith are both expected to be missing again from the Wednesday squad for tomorrow’s Hillsborough ‘six-pointer’ against fellow Championship strugglers Queens Park Rangers.
The pair were both injured for the midweek defeat at Norwich and manager Danny Rohl said ahead of the important clash near the foot of the table: “It is looking more like we will have the same squad as on Wednesday.
“We will look today after the treatments but it will be more like the same squad. We also have to look to the next games because if we take too much risk now, it could mean we are missing players for the long term and it is about finding a balance.”
We go into the match one place off the bottom and seven points behind opponents QPR who sit immediately above us … so the importance of a win for Wednesday, even at this stage of the season, is there for all to see.
Our unbeaten three-match run came to an end at Norwich while QPR have also seen an upturn in fortunes under new manager Marti Cifuentes and come to Hillsborough with three wins and a draw from their last four outings.
For Wednesday, the game is the first of two successive home fixtures, with Cardiff the visitors on December 23, and Rohl underlined the importance of the support of the fans for matches at S6.
He said: “The opponent is on a run at the moment and taking points but when I look now to the form table you see that Wednesday are not at the bottom.
“One of the reasons for this is that we have taken points at home. I have spoken about this topic a lot and we know we have to be very strong at home.
“That is the basic thing, for us to be strong with our supporters behind us. They give us the extra energy we need.
“It is the key for us when we are at home, we have to take points. Everybody at the club, the players, the staff know how special our home is.
“There are reasons why we have taken points at home and one of them is of course the performance but the big thing is the support and patience from the fans.”