Marvin Johnson confirmed for first Sheffield Wednesday appearance since pre-season

The 32-year-old was left out of the Owls’ 25-man EFL squad registration list earlier this season by former manager Xisco, who did not open up on the reasons behind his decision. That place remains and with Danny Röhl having stepped into the Hillsborough hotseat, the debate has re-emerged as to whether Johnson could be given a chance of a fresh start at S6.

Now, as was suggested by The Star on Tuesday morning, the former Middlesbrough man has been named in the high-flying Owls under-21’s latest fixture and will start at Coventry City. The news suggests a potential way back for Johnson, who was the subject of contact by the PFA to Wednesday regarding his training programme. The left winger was later pictured training alone in Dubai.

Speaking last week, Röhl made clear the door was open for a return for Johnson - with coaches primed to take a close look at his condition.

“I had a good conversation with Marvin,” the German said. “We spoke about what I expect from him on and off the pitch. It’s very important for me.

“It’s important to look forward and not look back, and it’s the reason why we took him for part of the training. Now we’ll look to the data, step by step, if the data is alright then we’ll bring him back into the squad and training. Then it’s about his performances in training if he’s in the squad or not…

“It was important that I had a talk with Marvin about his situation. Now we’ll look at the data and when he’s ready to come back we’ll take him. Maybe the next step for him is to train on Sunday in the recovery session with the other players who don’t play. Then we’ll have a look during the next week… I’m convinced about his quality. I’ve heard a lot of good things from him and we’ll keep going.”