Sheffield Wednesday will look to extend the loan spell of young Middlesbrough right-back Tony McMahon following yet more bad news on the injury front.
Initial assessments on the return of Richard Hinds, who suffered a leg injury against Wolves last month, were in the region of three to six months but this has now been revised and the defender is set to miss the vast majority if not all of the rest of the season. The latest estimates are that a full recovery will take around six to eight months.
First-choice right-back Frank Simek is yet to play this year. The American international suffered an his injury at Crystal Palace last December and although a comeback is thought to be not too far away it would be risky to put any undue pressure on him given the amount of time he has spent on the treatment table.
McMahon, whose initial loan spell is due to come to an end after the Ipswich Town home game in just over a weeks time, has looked very impressive in the games against Preston and Swansea. In an interview with the club's official website last week the defender revealed that he would be happy to extend his stay in order to gain more first team experience and so it seems the decision is in Middlesbrough's hands.
Wednesday have a number of fitness concerns ahead of the home game with Watford at Hillsborough on Saturday. Defender Mark Beevers is a doubt and Striker Deon Burton will need to be assessed on his return from long-haul international duty this week with Jamaica, more in-depth team news will follow on owls-mad tomorrow.