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Sheffield Wednesday picked up their second win on the bounce this week, but Steve Bruce has revealed that it came at a pretty big cost.
Sheffield Wednesday brushed Brentford aside on Tuesday thanks to a brace from Steven Fletcher, and the Owls are now unbelievably just six points away from the play-off positions.
They will have to scrap to move up the table without one of their most impressive recent performers though, as January loan signing Achraf Lazaar suffered a serious hamstring injury in Tuesday’s win.
What’s the word?
“Well, I think that’s what my big mistake of tonight was (playing Lazaar),” Bruce told BBC Radio Sheffield after the game.
“He had such a good debut, he was beaming yesterday and I took the chance with him. In hindsight, it looks a nasty one so we’ll see how he is.”
Bruce has since delivered a further update, saying in his Thursday press conference that the defender will miss “at least” six weeks.
Costly setback
Lazaar has only played twice for the Owls, but this is still a huge hit to their thin play-off hopes.
The Newcastle full-back showed exactly what he is capable of in last weekend’s win over Swansea, injecting the pace and attacking impetus down the left flank that the Owls have been lacking.
Bruce will surely now turn to the versatile Morgan Fox to fill in at left-back, but the Welshman has nowhere near the quality going forward that Lazaar showed against Swansea.
The Owls welcome Aston Villa to Hillsborough in slightly less than six weeks, so perhaps the Moroccan international will earmark that for a comeback.
Either way, this is a huge hit for Bruce just when things were starting to go his way.
