Sheffield Wednesday handed major injury blow ahead of Leeds United & QPR as star out for "long, long time"

Sheffield Wednesday have been handed a major injury blow ahead of Championship games with Leeds United, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers later this month after Dominic Iorfa limped out of the Owls’ 2-2 draw with Millwall last weekend.

The defender was forced to exit the action after 71 minutes. The score was 1-1 at the time after Yan Valery had given the hosts an early lead before George Honeyman equalised for the Lions. Ryan Wintle put Millwall ahead but Gabriel Otegbayo replied almost instantly for Wednesday as the sides shared the spoils. Prior to Millwall’s equaliser, the hosts missed a penalty and hit the woodwork three times as the Lions managed to keep themselves in the contest before coming up with their goals.

Up next for the South Yorkshire club is a third-round FA Cup clash at Coventry City, who are managed by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. Before the end of the month, they face Leeds United, Bristol City and QPR in the Championship. Iorfa is set for at least eight weeks out, meaning he will definitely not be in the travelling squad when the Owls visit Loftus Road on January 25.

Rohl confirms injury blow

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl revealed the injury blow in his pre-match Coventry press conference. He said, via The Star: “For Dom it’s a shame - he will be out for eight weeks - a long, long time. It’s a big muscle injury… It’s not nice, but it’s what it is, and we cannot change it now. We’ll try and get him back as soon as possible, but when it’s such a big injury it takes time. We know that Dom will need time also to get into a rhythm - we’ll see what it means for the season."

The Owls avoided relegation from the Championship after being involved in the survival battle alongside QPR last campaign. Both clubs have been looking up rather than down this season with the R’s 13th after 26 games after they defeated Luton Town 2-1 on Monday. That result proved to be Rob Edwards’ final game in charge of the Hatters. The Owls are 10th, five points ahead of QPR and just six points off the top six.

Rohl determined to keep Windass

Another issue facing the Owls ahead of the visit to QPR later this month is the future of Josh Windass. The forward has been the subject of interest from Serie A and from Brazilian giants, Santos. However, Rohl insists he does not want to lose the player.

He said: “For me it’s not important if it’s true or a rumour. What is important is that there are no question marks… Josh is a key player for me and I want to keep him here. I want to see him on the pitch, and hopefully he can score 10 more goals and he can have 20 - 20 would be fantastic, and I think that’s what we’re working on. Josh has a good development, I don’t know all of his history, but when I compare it to last year it’s been a huge step forward. He can play more minutes, he can score, he helps the team, he can make the difference… I think it shows that we can develop and improve players, and this is fantastic to see.”