Garry Monk says he is hopeful that defender Julian Borner and midfielder Sam Hutchinson will both be available to Sheffield Wednesday after the international break.

The pair were both absent from the Owls' dramatic 2-2 draw with Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, but Monk is optimistic that neither will be out long-term.

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Speaking to The Sheffield Star about Wednesday's preparations for the clash with Swansea, Monk revealed the reasons behind the absence of the pair, as he said: "We had a really disruptive week. We couldn't train at all on the pitches on Thursday because of the flooding and on Friday we had three players an hour before training pull out. 

"Julian picked up a bug, Hutch strained his calf in training and Liam Palmer pulled out 10 minutes into training with a tackle and clash on the knees.

"We didn't know whether he was going to be ready and available for Swansea so there was quite a lot of disruption in the week and that is why I am proud it didn't really seep through into the performance."

Palmer would go onto play the full 90 minutes on Saturday, while Monk is also hopeful that Borner will be "back with the group soon" after his illness.

Discussing the timescale on Hutchinson's absence, the Wednesday boss added: "I don't think it is too serious. It is a grade one in the calf so that is anyway from seven days to 10 days.

"We are lucky in the sense that we have the international break to recover the players. Credit to them as they dealt with that disruption really well and didn't let it affect what we tried to do."

Borner and Hutchinson have been key figures for Wednesday this season, with the duo both appearing in 14 of the Owls' 16 league games in the campaign, helping their side to seventh place in the current Championship standings.

Wednesday are set to return after the international with the daunting task of a trip to The Hawthorns to take on league leaders West Brom on the 23rd November, before facing Birmingham at home and Charlton away later that same week.

The Verdict

This will be a big relief for Monk and Wednesday.

Both Borner and Hutchinson have been regular features in what has been an encouraging start to the season for the Owls, with Borner in particular settling in brilliantly following his summer move from Germany.

That therefore is not something they will want to see impacted by injuries, especially given they are still well within touching distance of the play-offs.

Indeed, with West Brom next up after the break, Wednesday will surely need as strong a side as possible available, if they are going to take something off the division's most efficient team so far this season.