Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce has revealed that Steven Fletcher and Liam Palmer missed Monday's 2-0 win over Bristol City because he wanted to give them a rest.

First half goals from Barry Bannan and Lucas Joao gave Wednesday all three points to keep their mathematical hopes of reaching the play-offs alive, despite the absence of the influential pair.

Explaining the decision to leave Fletcher and Palmer out of the squad, Bruce told The Star: "They had a well-deserved rest. They have been excellent and have played relentlessly for me."

Fletcher has made 43 appearances in all competitions for Wednesday this season, scoring 11 times, while Palmer has featured on 37 occasions during the campaign.

Palmer's absence also gave Bruce the chance to assess on loan left back Achraf Lazaar, with the Owls boss adding: "It was important I had a look at Lazaar. He is a loan signing who came here and had a good start and then got injured.

"He played okay against Bristol.

“He tired a bit towards the second half but overall he has done okay. The ninety minutes will have done him good.”

Lazaar has made just four appearances for Wednesday since joining on loan until the of the season from Newcastle in January.

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The Verdict

Given Wednesday could still possibly reach the play-offs, they may have been some questions asked of Bruce had his decision to rest players backfired into defeat.

As it is, this can go down as another impressive bit of management at Hillsborough from the 58-year-old, giving a couple of key players a rest whilst still managing to pick up three points against a decent opponent.

Thoughts? Let us know!