Sheffield Wednesday are slowly creeping their way up the Championship table, but there promotion hopes could be hanging by a thread as a key player could be set for a spell on the sidelines.Â
Sheffield Star journalist, Dom Howson revealed that the Owls are sweating on the extent of his injury which has kept him out of a crucial set of fixtures recently.
Joao has been in impressive form this season for Sheffield Wednesday and is the club's top scorer with nine league goals to his name.
He has returned to Portugal to see a specialist to discover the extent of his knee injury and Owls supporters will be hoping that it isn't as bad as first feared.
Steve Bruce will be hoping his side can build on some positive results that have seen them move into play-off contention heading towards the conclusion of this season.
But which two players will be hoping to take their chance in the side if Joao is ruled out?
Find out below....
Marco Matias
Matias has struggled for regular game time since returning to the side after being frozen out by Jos Luhukay and he has a point to prove.
He has shown glimpses of his quality and will be keen to show Steve Bruce exactly what he can offer the team going forward as we approach the end of this year's campaign.
Sam WinnallÂ
Winnall made his long-awaited return to the first-team picture earlier this month and he'll be keen to force his way into the starting XI in Joao's absence in the near future.
If he can pick up where he left off, then his goals could be crucial to Sheffield Wednesday's late play-off charge.