Video: Why Sheffield Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay thinks Fernando Forestieri is not yet ready to play from the start
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The talismanic forward, who missed over seven months of football after undergoing major knee surgery, featured twice over Wednesday’s Easter programme.
He was brought on as a late sub in each of the Owls’ two fixtures against Preston North End and Sunderland, scoring an exquisite free kick in the emphatic Good Friday win over the Lilywhites.
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Hide AdBut manager Jos Luhukay is adamant Forestieri is not ready to play from the start.
Speaking at his press briefing today, Luhukay said: “I think he’s not available at this moment from the beginning.
“We must have a little bit of patience but Fernando works very intensive every day. We hope we can give him in the next games more minutes to come to a good situation himself and us as a team.”
Wednesday entertain automatic promotion hopefuls Fulham this weekend.
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Hide AdDaniel Pudil is expected to be involved, having shrugged off a minor hamstring injury, but fellow defenders Joost van Aken (ankle) and Morgan Fox (hamstring) have been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Wednesday have been dogged by injury problems throughout the campaign and Luhukay has vowed to do all he can to ensure there is no repeat of this year’s issues.
Luhukay, who fears Keiren Westwood may also not be available for selection for the final six matches, said: “We analyse every week our situation with the medical team. I think for the future we must change some things to prevent this happening again.
“We have a lot of problems, not only before my time but while I’m here. A lot of players have had injuries and surgeries.
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Hide Ad“At the end of the season, we must go deep and analyse what the problems may have been and look for solutions so we have good preparation for the start of the new Championship season.”