Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk says Kieran Lee is available for his side's clash with Barnsley on Saturday, while Massimo Luongo and Morgan Fox are both rated as being "50-50" for the Yorkshire derby.

Fox - who earlier on Thursday morning was named Wednesday's Player of the Month for January - missed his side's goalless draw with Millwall last time out through injury.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Oakwell about Fox's availability for the game, Monk was quoted by Wednesday's official Twitter account as saying: "Morgan has a 50-50 chance of making the game this weekend, he is very close and we’ll make a decision tomorrow. How he has gone about things this season, all credit to him."

Luongo meanwhile, hasn't featured for the Owls since being sent off in their 5-0 thrashing by Blackburn Rovers on the 18th January, despite having his suspension rescinded, with Lee also having last featured in that defeat.

Assessing the midfield pair's chances of returning to the fold this weekend, Monk went on to add: "Kieran Lee is available, Mass Luongo is 50-50. He’s back on the grass and like Morgan, we’ll make a decision on him tomorrow."

Following a run of that has seen them take just one point from their last three league games, Wednesday go into their clash with Barnsley 11th in the Championship table, seven points adrift of the play-off places.

The Tykes meanwhile, are 23rd in the second-tier standings, seven points from safety.

The Verdict

This could well be a significant boost for Wednesday.

Following that recent run of form, Monk may well feel that his side needs freshening up somewhat in order to give them a fresh impetus as they look to get back to winning ways.

Having had a few weeks out on the sidelines, Luongo should be able to offer that if he does indeed return, having already shown his ability to make an impact for the Owls earlier in the season.

Fox and Lee will also be useful additions should they be available, but with games set to come so quickly over the next month or so, it would make little sense to rush them back and risk doing further damage that could then keep them out on a longer-term basis.