This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood cannot feature in the Championship until January, according to a report from Yorkshire Live. 

Having fallen out of favour with previous manager Garry Monk, it is understood that he was not registered in the Owls 25-man league squad and therefore cannot play until January.

It seems Tony Pulis does see him as part of his plans, however, as he was spotted back in first-team training today.

But how big of a blow is his extended absence for the new manager? And should he return to the starting XI in January?

We asked our FLW writers for their thoughts...

George Dagless

It's hard to assess if it's a blow as we don't know truly whether he fancies him or not given he's only just arrived at the club.

For me, I think Westwood still has something to offer the club so in that sense, it is a blow but from Pulis' perspective, it is hard to assess.

I'd argue that he'd want all options available to him, of course, so it could be a considered a blow from that angle.

Time will tell whether he wants to get Westwood into the side, though, and then we'll really see whether this current problem - looking back - was an early gripe for him.

Did these 17 Sheffield Wednesday players ever actually score a league goal for the club?

 

Jacob Potter

It should be a no-brainer for Pulis to throw him back into the starting XI in January.

I still think it was ridiculous that Westwood wasn't involved in the first-team squad, or even registered by Monk during the summer.

I still think he's Sheffield Wednesday's best goalkeeper currently on their books, and Pulis would be making a mistake if he wasn't to call upon his services in the New Year.

It's good to see the Irishman already involved in the first-team setup since Pulis has come in though, and I think he'll see the experienced shot-stopper as a crucial member of his squads.

Westwood will be eager to make up for lost time as well, so it's a decision that I can see paying off for the Owls.

He'll be playing for his future at Hillsborough as well and will want to make a positive impact for the club.

Sam Rourke

It's not a pressing concern.

Dawson and Wildsmith are two competent goalkeepers at Championship level, and in my eyes, are good enough to be starting for Sheffield Wednesday.

In one way, you could say it's more of a blow for Westwood himself as he'd have eyed a new manager coming in as an opportunity to get involved in the first-team picture once again.

It was evident that Monk did not have Westwood at the forefront of his plans and Pulis could have potentially brought him back into the fold.

Though, Pulis is a wise head and will be well aware of the quality that the Irish goalkeeper possesses so he could well be an option come the new year.

Whether or not Pulis brings him back into contention will solely be determined on the form of Dawson and Wildsmith at the time.