Sheffield Wednesday are hoping that Jermaine Johnson will return to fitness as soon as possible as they bid for survival in the Coca-Cola Championship.
The Jamaican winger has been a bright spark under the tenure of Alan Irvine but has spent too much time on the sidelines of late. He returned as a substitute to good effect in the 1-1 draw at QPR on Saturday, once again earning plaudits as he played a part in Wednesday’s equaliser.
Johnson was a surprise omission from the squad that faced Bristol City at Hillsborough on Bank Holiday Monday and his absence was clearly felt by the team. Despite dominating possession for large periods of the game, particularly in the second half, the Owls failed to do enough with the ball and were beaten by a sucker punch. Although JJ has been criticised in the past for his decision making and final ball this is an area of his game that has improved of late and his incisive running could have made the difference against Bristol.
Although he has a tendency to be inconsistent Johnson is one of the few players in the Wednesday squad capable of running at defenders and beating them for pace. In his recent absence Tommy Miller has returned to the side after a long injury lay off and has provided a threat from the left side but he picked up another knock last week and is likely to miss most of the remainder of the season. There is no doubt that with both players in the side Wednesday would have a far better chance of survival but without either the team faces an uphill battle.
It has been revealed that Johnson felt a tight hamstring on Sunday and failed a fitness test prior to Monday’s match. There is however a possibility that he could return to training later in the week, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Middlesbrough.