Sheffield Wednesday’s Akin Famewo on his comeback and the key role he can play | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday defender Akin Famewo made his return to the squad at the weekend after a long spell on the sidelines.

The 24-year-old arrived at Hillsborough from Norwich City in the summer, but suffered an injury on his debut for the club in August. He was on the bench for Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Derby County at Pride Park and stepped up his recovery even further by playing a full game for the club’s development squad this week.

Famewo, who had two loan spells with Charlton Athletic in the third tier in the last two seasons, says he was delighted to be back out there and is relishing getting some minutes in the league and becoming part of one of the division’s best defences. The Owls have conceded the joint-fewest goals along with Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Derby County, while they have also kept 11 clean sheets, the most of any team in the league so far.

“It’s another box ticked and I’m just delighted to be back out playing, to dust my legs off again. I’m happy to have got another one under my belt,” Famewo told The Star.

“I’ve done 45 minutes, then 70 minutes and now 90, so hopefully that one puts me in the clear.

“I cannot wait to get back involved. The boys have done excellently even without me being back so I just want to be a part of that, really kick on and finish the season as strongly as I can.

“The boys are flying. They’re doing really well and it’s clean sheet after clean sheet at the moment. I just want to be a part of that so much now. I cannot wait to get back into the fold.”

His return could not have come at a much better time for Darren Moore, with Ben Heneghan expected to miss the remainder of the season and Michael Ihiekwe likely to be out for a couple of months.

Although those absences will undoubtedly open a door for Famewo, he was not celebrating the misfortune of his team-mates and wants to use his experiences of a long-term injury to help them, while also expressing his sympathy for their situations.

“It’s an opportunity for me, but it’s heartbreaking for the lads,” Famewo said.

“I’m just heartbroken for both of them. I’m going to do my bit to support them the same way they supported me and hopefully they’ll be back to lift a trophy or celebrate automatic promotion with us come the end of the season.

“You can’t say too much to them. The first few weeks is about processing it and getting your head back. When it happened to me I needed that bit of time to myself to process and get going. Now they’re ready to get back on that recovery.”

Quiz: What shirt number are these 25 current Sheffield Wednesday players?

1 of 25

CAMERON DAWSON

25 31

The verdict

Famewo’s comeback is excellent news for Wednesday.

Defensive injuries have plagued Moore during his time at Hillsborough. This season alone Famewo, Heneghan, Ihiekwe, Liam Palmer, Jack Hunt, Dominic Iorfa, Reece James and Mark McGuinness have all been unavailable at some stage, with Heneghan and Ihiekwe currently facing lengthy lay-offs.

While Moore is likely to enter the market for reinforcements in January, having Famewo back provides crucial depth, particularly over the busy Christmas period.

Famewo has yet to get his Wednesday career going, but he has proven himself to be a more than capable centre half at this level and will be a useful option for the Owls for the rest of this season.

His comments about Heneghan and Ihiekwe also show the togetherness in the Wednesday squad, that while there is healthy competition for places, the squad will support one another when it is needed.