Sheffield Wednesday: Refs need to protect Owls pair

Officials should give more protection to Owls strikers Atdhe Nuhiu and Fernando Forestieri, according to head coach Carlos Carvalhal.
Atdhe NuhiuAtdhe Nuhiu
Atdhe Nuhiu

Nuhiu is set to be recalled to the starting line-up at home to Rotherham United tomorrow, with Forestieri banned after his red card at Hull City.

Carvalhal told The Star: “I feel exactly the same about Attey as I do Fernando. He doesn’t get enough protection. Defenders do everything to him. When other players are fouled, they get free kicks.”

At his press briefing yesterday, Carvalhal reiterated his belief that refereeing decisions have gone against his side in the last three matches.

“There are a lot of things that can happen in the season and the last three games has been very traumatic to us with refereeing decisions so let’s see what will happen in the future,” he said. “I don’t want to put any pressure on the referees. I want them to do their normal work.”

Wednesday are virtually at full-strength, with Carvalhal revealing that goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith has returned to training following a back problem.

Carvalhal said: “We have a full squad. It is just Fernando who is out.

“In December-January, we were missing seven or eight players.

“We have three games coming up and guys who can be with good energy to help the team.”