Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Hooper is close to a first-team return, but won’t feature this weekend.

The Owls host Stoke City when the Championship resumes on Saturday afternoon, and the 30-year-old will not be in the Sheffield Wednesday side when they line up ahead of kick-off.

Jos Luhukay revealed in his pre-match press conference that the former Norwich player is close, but needs to step up his recovery from a hip injury.

The forward has been out since Boxing Day after picking up the injury and has since had an operation to correct the issue.

Hooper played 45 minutes for the Owls’ U23s this week, and Luhukay said the next aim is to play for a longer period of time, having been out for so long. 

Wednesday’s boss told the assembled media: “Gary Hooper played 45 minutes for the U23s, it’s very difficult when you have been out for so long. 

“The aim for Gary is to next time play 65/70 minutes.”

The Verdict

This is very sensible from Jos Luhukay, having had his striker out for so long.

There might have been a temptation to bring the 30-year-old into the first-team after his 45-minute stint for the U23s in midweek, but he has set Gary Hooper another hurdle to overcome before he is ready to be recalled.

Wednesday could do with the forward who has been out since Boxing Day, and he has been a significant loss since.

Once fit, in an ideal world, you would expect the former Celtic man to make his way back into the first-team and find from of yesteryear to propel the Hillsborough side up the division.