Sheff Wed: Wilks ‘in a position’ to return

Sheffield Wednesday forward Mallik Wilks could be ‘in a position’ to play the League One game vs Forest Green Rovers on Sunday, according to manager Darren Moore.

The Lowdown: Spell on the sidelines

The Owls winger first made the move to Hillsborough from Hull City last summer and enjoyed a great start to life there, making 20 appearances, but it wasn’t long before he suffered a setback.

The 24-year-old last featured in the 1-0 victory over Plymouth on February 4 and has been out of action ever since through injury, missing the last eight consecutive league games.

The Yorkshire outfit’s boss later confirmed that he had picked up a calf injury and would need further assessment, but an extremely positive update on his situation has now emerged.

The Latest: Wilks fitness update

Speaking to The Star after Tuesday’s 4-2 defeat to Barnsley, Moore delivered an encouraging update on Wilks and suggested that he could be available for this weekend’s trip to The New Lawn. He said:

“We think it’s good news with Mallik. If he keeps continuing what he’s doing – he’s just building up volume in training – then he’s looking good. I didn’t want to risk him and have him on the bench, but we think that he’s in a better stage.

“If he can continue over the next few days then we think he’ll be in a position – so we feel confident with him.”

The Verdict: Boost for Moore

Wilks has previously been dubbed a ‘threat’ by Moore himself for one of his performances earlier in the season, so it’ll be a huge boost to have him back and available for selection again.

Expanding on how impressed he was with his display, the boss said:

“He is different to Greggers (Lee Gregory) and Smudger (Michael Smith) because what he can do is spin and run in behind and is close to the ball at his feet, he can manipulate the ball and take people on in one-versus-one situations and we know he posed a goal threat and he was that.”

The Leeds-born talent has provided four assists and scored two goals in his 20 outings since joining and he was averaging 2.41 shots per game prior to his absence.

The Owls forward also offers the manager great versatility with his ability to operate in six different positions, four of which he’s been fielded in throughout the third tier this season, and his return will be key to the run-in and indeed the hunt for promotion.