SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Barry Bannan of Sheffield Wednesday looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday FC and Leeds United FC at Hillsborough on August 23, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Delight as Sheffield Wednesday attacker returns with a goal – it’s him ‘in a nutshell’
Sheffield Wednesday attacker, Joey Phuthi, was back on the pitch and back in the goals this week.
The 19-year-old, who has become known for his attacking runs out wide, has missed a chunk of games for the Owls’ U21s this season due to injury, ultimately undergoing surgery in order to rectify the issue. Now, though, the Zimbabwean international is fit again – and managed to make his comeback on Monday.
He said, “It was a tough game with tough conditions but the lads acquitted themselves really well.“We had a gameplan to nullify Birmingham’s strengths and they did that. They took their goals really well.In the last couple of weeks we’ve struggled out of possession and we’ve conceded too many goals.
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“So, we started from scratch and tried to get players in positions where the opposition can’t hurt us and we can hit them on the transition. Playing in conditions like that are not nice but the players have got to dig deep and they did that from kick-off, and it’s a good Birmingham team, it’s always hard but the lads stuck to their task.”
It was a game in which experienced goalkeeper, Ben Hamer, also made his comeback after months of rehabilitation, but Phuthi was the one who proved to be the match-winner as he came on with an hour played before bursting down the right side and slotting past the Birmingham City to give them the lead once more. It ended that way, 2-1 to Wednesday, and the manager, Andy Holdsworth, was very pleased with the youngster’s return.
“I said to him that we’ve been waiting for you for five weeks to come back from injury!” he said. “That’s Joey in a nutshell, he’ll get the ball and take players on and create chances. It’s now a case of getting him back to full fitness and where he needs to be.”
