Tom Lees has admitted that he tried to play through the pain barrier early in the season, which ultimately led to the Sheffield Wednesday defender missing a key period of the campaign through injury.  

Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Lees has admitted his mistake, stating that if he hadn’t tried to play on through his groin injury, he might’ve only been missing for weeks, rather than months.

Sheffield Wednesday have played a key part of the season without Lees at the heart of defence, with the 27-year-old missing the last 17 fixtures through injury, which has turned into a period that has seen the Owls’ play-off hopes dashed.

Discussing his spell on the sidelines, Lees said: “I tried to do everything I could to stay on the pitch but it probably got to the point where it was a little bit stupid of me, to be honest, to carry on playing. If anything, I made it worse.

“Maybe if I had swallowed my pride a bit earlier I might have been out a couple of weeks rather than a couple of months.”

Lees last featured in blue and white back in November’s 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town, but has stepped up his comeback in recent weeks and featured in an under-23 fixture earlier this week.

Jos Luhukay, appointed at Wednesday earlier in 2018, has been unable to call on Lees during his time at Hillsborough so far.

The Dutchman is without a number of key first-team players, which has certainly played a part in results during the early stage of his career in English football.

However, the Owls recorded their first victory of his era on Tuesday evening, picking up three points against automatic promotion-chasing Derby County.

Wednesday are back in action this weekend, facing Swansea City in the FA Cup.

The Verdict

Lees has been a miss for Sheffield Wednesday, with limited numbers in defence often a problem at Hillsborough this season.

With hindsight, Wednesday should have probably taken a different route with the defender’s injury problems, however, the focus must now be on getting Lees fully fit.

Sheffield Wednesday fans… Let us know your thoughts!