Mystery absence of Sheffield Wednesday man explained after Birmingham City confusion

The Spanish wing-back has not been named in any of their last four squads having stepped out in each of Röhl's first four. Valentin has played 12 matches so far in his Wednesday career across both the Championship and the League Cup.

There was confusion in the fan base after he was spotted at St Andrew's during Wednesday's defeat at Birmingham City last month, with teenage goalkeeper Pierce Charles named on the bench alongside fellow stopper Devis Vasquez after John Buckley was allowed leave due to a family emergency.

It transpires Valentin has been recovering from a niggle over the past few weeks and so has been unavailable for selection.

"He had a little bit of an injury in his muscle," Röhl told The Star. "Now he is back, he is fit and he can play. It is important that he is back and I now have one option more in this position. He trained to come back as soon as he possibly could and this week he took part in all of the training sessions, so this is a good sign for me. We have a lot of games in the next weeks and it is good to have another player available."

Valentin's return comes at an opportune time for the Owls, who will send Dominic Iorfa for scans on the injury that saw him have to come off just minute's into the weekend's win over Blackburn Rovers. No timescale has been revealed on Iorfa's injury, though Röhl intimated it was unlikely he would be able to take part in their trip to Stoke City on Saturday.

The Spaniard looks likely to come in and challenge Liam Palmer for a spot on the right of defence after the Wednesday vice-captain battled his way back into contention to make his first appearances under the German coach in their last two outings.