Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore has claimed Owls skipper Barry Bannan is "feeling good" ahead of this afternoon's League One clash with Charlton Athletic. 

Wednesday are top of the table in the third tier and will break a club record if they can extend their unbeaten run to 20 games at The Valley this afternoon.

The run Moore's side are on looks all the more impressive given Bannan, who has been one of the best players in League One since the Yorkshire club's relegation, has missed four of their last 10 league games.

The 33-year-old playmaker has missed just three league games in the three previous campaigns, such is his importance, but Wednesday are now trying a fresh approach to better manage his game time.

Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Moore outlined the change in tactic and revealed an exciting update on the captain's current state.

He said: "It's about managing his loading. He'd just come back from that injury but we've been able to integrate him back in.

"The ways the games have gone, it's probably allowed us to bring him off with those 10, 15 or 20 minutes left to play. He's got himself back up to full fitness now and to add the match minutes into his training is good. Obviously with these one-game weeks as well, they benefit the volume he can get in training. He's feeling good and it's certainly nice to have him back."

Moore added: "With Baz and all the players, everything we do here is to help and maintain them," added the Owls' boss. "Our emphasis is on prevention, not cure. That's why we've introduced a lot of stuff such as biometric testing, our sports science department has increased, we've also introduced yoga in here.

"It's trying to prevent injuries rather than cure them. As well as that, you have to make decisions in terms of volume that goes into the players because we want to keep them playing for us as long as possible."

Wednesday beat the Addicks 1-0 in the reverse fixture at Hillsborough back in August.

The Verdict

Bannan has been ever-present in the Owls side in recent seasons but it is certainly good news that Moore is being careful to manage him at the moment.

The 33-year-old is one of the most talented players in League One but he can't influence games if he's not available and keeping him full fit is the way to get the best out of him.

Finding the balance between ensuring Wednesday are at full strength and that Bannan's minutes are well managed will be important - not just for this season but for the ones to come.

It seems like it's working at the moment and Charlton have been warned that the Scot is feeling good ahead of today's game.