Sheffield Wednesday may be about to get an important piece back at just the right time. Joe Lumley has returned to training after missing the past five league matches with a rib injury, and Dave Challinor said the goalkeeper is being assessed for Saturday's home game against Plymouth Argyle.
That matters because Wednesday have already had to manage more than one issue in goal. Lumley had started all of their first eight league matches this season before the injury intervened, while Ashley Maynard-Brewer then picked up a shoulder problem in the second half of Sunday's FA Cup defeat by Oldham and was replaced by Connal Trueman.
A timely return for Challinor
Challinor said Lumley had "ticked off everything he needs to tick off" and described him as "very important" for the team. It is the kind of update that gives a manager more than one benefit at once: stability in selection, a more settled defensive picture, and a chance to avoid another reshuffle for a first home league match in charge.
There is also a bigger reason this feels significant. Challinor stressed that successful teams are built around what they do at home and said the key is to keep the supporters involved for as long as possible. At Hillsborough, with around 30,000 fans expected and a 15:00 GMT kick-off, the tone of the afternoon matters almost as much as the selection.
Plymouth will not make that easy. Challinor described them as direct and capable of putting balls into the box, adding that they are one of the strongest teams in League One. He also pointed to a side that has kept its identity after replacing key players well and is now on a strong run. In other words, Wednesday may need Lumley not just for shot-stopping, but for the calm that comes with knowing the first choice is back.
Wednesday did at least show some squad depth during the week, already having qualified to progress in the EFL Trophy before the 4-0 loss to Accrington Stanley. But this is a different sort of test. If Lumley is passed fit, Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth becomes less about survival in goal and more about whether Challinor can use his first home league match to start building something more stable.
