Wednesday continue their Capital One Cup campaign this evening at St James’ Park and there is plenty to consider for head coach Carlos Carvalhal.
With fixtures coming thick and fast and a trip to Brentford in the Championship on the horizon this weekend, Carvalhal has said he must manage the health of his players as Wednesday go in search of cup progression tonight.
“The match is tonight, it could finish very late, we will arrive home late and the next day we will travel again to play Brentford,” Carvalhal said.
“There are a lot of things that I must think and put in my mind.
“It’s not a question of rotation at this moment, it’s a question of managing the health of the players also.
“We will put 11 players out tonight with 100% energy, absolutely ready to play, ready to fight for Sheffield Wednesday and give the maximum.
“We then want to go to Brentford absolutely ready and fresh to play that match.”
Fernando Forestieri is cup-tied for this evening’s cup clash but would have been ruled out in any case with a hamstring injury.
Highlighting the importance of getting the balance right in terms of rest, recovery and playing the games, he continued:
“Fernando Forestieri has a small injury because he hasn’t played consistently for a long time.
“When he came to us, because we needed a player in his position, he started to play and did very well.
“In the second game he came a little down because he has not played for a long time and then in a short time played the last match and did fantastic and scored his goal.
“All the players that we bring in the last days of the transfer window are in a similar condition.
“We have a short time to recover and have to look at this game as potentially being 120 minutes long.”