Sheffield Wednesday will likely have captain Tom Lees, midfielder Sam Hutchinson, and forward Fernando Forestieri available when they face Cardiff City in their next Championship game.

Neither Lees or Forestieri have featured under Garry Monk, who took over in September, with the former missing due to injury and the latter serving a six-game ban, while Hutchinson missed the game against Wigan Athletic after serving his suspension for receiving five yellow cards.

Dominic Iorfa has filled in brilliantly for Lees, while Massimo Luongo stepped into central midfield in place of Hutchinson to great effect against the Latics–scoring the winner on debut.

The international break appears to have come at a good time for Wednesday as, speaking to the Sheffield Star, Monk revealed that in addition to Forestieri and Hutchinson returning, Lees would likely be back for the Cardiff game.

He said: “With Tom, as eager as he is to come back, we have erred on the side of caution because there is no point in risking him to reset him again for a longer period.

"He possibly could have pushed to comeback for Wigan but I didn't want to rush him and lose him again. He is an important player for us so we didn't need to take that risk.

"He should be nice and ready when we come back from that international break.

He added: “It is important as everybody is going to be needed. It will be nice to have certain options.

"It can be difficult for freshness. Wigan was our third game in a week and we did as well we could physically to compete as hard as we did.”

Luongo has dropped out of the Australia squad during the international break due to an injury, however, according to Sheffield Star journalist Don Howson, he should also be available for the Cardiff game.

The Verdict

This looks like a big boost for Wednesday and should help Monk continue what has been a fantastic start to life at Hillsborough.

The Owls have taken 10 points from a possible 15 since their new boss took charge and have climbed to eighth in the Championship.

With Hutchinson, Lees and Forestieri back, Monk is going to have some interesting decisions to make concerning selection.

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