Sheffield Wednesday missed the chance to move into 2nd place in League One on Saturday as they suffered a 2-1 loss at Swindon Town. The Owls second defeat of the week came at a price with injuries adding to the disappointment of defeat.
Lewis Buxton made a comeback from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the team recently but he lasted just 50 minutes due to what appears to be a reoccurrence of that injury. The right-back has been one of the Owls better performers this season but it was a little surprising to see him make his comeback from such an injury in this game, given that this type of injury is particularly susceptible to cold conditions.
It has been stated that skipper Darren Purse has been playing with pain caused by cracked ribs of late. The centre-back has been some way off his best form recently and this would go a long way to explaining why.
Top scorer Neil Mellor was stretchered off in midweek and missed Saturday's game at the County Ground with an ankle injury. The problem is not thought to be as bad as was first feared but from what has happened with Buxton's injury it would clearly be unwise to rush him back.
With Buxton out once again and Jon Otsemobor not yet ready to return from a calf injury boss, Alan Irvine may have to revert back to playing left-sided defender Tommy Spurr at right back with Daniel Jones at left-back. While Jones has looked useful in possession in the few games he has played since his summer move to Hillsborough some of his defending, especially from a positional sense, has been suspect. The fact that Darren Purse has been playing with a debilitating injury speaks volumes about the lack of options and Irvine appears to have little faith in utility man Richard Hinds.
There is a similar problem up front as Irvine chose not to start with Paul Heffernan alongside Clinton Morrison up top despite not having Mellor at his disposal. With Marcus Tudgay on loan at Nottingham Forest Heffernan is Wednesday's only other experienced striker besides Morrison and Mellor but he has hardly had a look in this season and is yet to score for the Owls.
Wednesday’s next four games are against opposition that a promotion chasing side would expect to pick up a good tally of points from with only one of the teams they are set to face, Exeter, sitting in the top half of League One.
Although Wednesday clearly have one of the best teams in the division, the depth of the squad now has to come into question. It has been rumoured that new owner Milan Mandaric may supply some funds in January to help the Owls kick on towards the target of promotion back to the Championship. If Irvine fails to get the most out of the resources available to him in the next month then he may find his place at S6 under threat.