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All teams have off-days.
But Sheffield Wednesday were inexplicably poor against relegation-threatened Lincoln City.
The Imps turned the form book upside down and punished a catalogue of defensive errors from the Owls.
It was a tired-looking performance. Perhaps the three-game week did catch up on them but Darren Moore has backed the players to make amends.
The Wednesday boss said: “We have bounced back before and we will bounce back again.
“We played well but lost against Oxford, we played well against Rotherham and lost, now we have played not so well against Lincoln and lost and I fully expect this group of players to bounce back against Cambridge.”
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Lee Gregory are fit-again following injury lay-offs and featured as second half substitutes at the LNER Stadiuym. A foot problem kept top-scorer Gregory out of action for eight matches.
“It’s really good to have him back,” said Moore. “Greggers is back, but we’ve got Saido, Sylla, Flo [Florian Kamberi]. Then we get Josh Windass back, Mendez-Laing back, we get Midy Shodipo back in.
“These are all attacking options we’ll have back and in games like that (the defeat at Lincoln), they do bring a massive help because they do have a massive output those attacking players, as the whole team does.
“Nobody will doubt the energy and commitment those players have been showing over the last few weeks, but it just wasn’t showing when we needed that against Lincoln.
“Credit to Lincoln who worked extremely hard, they didn’t have a midweek game and had a week to work.”
Moore is looking forward to having a larger pool of players to choose from for the run-in. Injuries have limited Moore’s options throughout the campaign.
Here is all you need to know about the current state of play at Hillsborough and the potential return dates for those currently on the sidelines.
Chey Dunkley
The centre-back is nearing a first-team return, having resumed full training following a hamstring injury. He is likely to be involved in an in-house match this week as he looks to prove his fitness.
What Moore said: “If he can come through that (in-house game) and get some more volume to his training, Chey will come back into contention.”
Expected return date: Next week
Josh Windass
Not since February 1 has Windass figured. Injuries have restricted him to eight appearances this term. Windass has four goals to his name.
What Moore said: “Josh is making wonderful, significant progress. He is doing really, really well.
“He is still not around where he should be and where we want him to be. He continues his rehabilitation work but he is making wonderful strides.
“We are not putting any real pressure on him. I don’t want to put a time scale in his head and make him think he has got to work to that time scale. If he is fitter quicker, then he will join up with the squad.
“He is not with us at the moment but we are pleased with where he is at.”
Expected return date: End of March
Harlee Dean
A calf injury has limited the Birmingham City defender’s involvement to two starts.
What Moore said: “I would like to say it is weeks with Harlee (when he could be back) as opposed to months. He is making some wonderful progress and long may it continue.
“I have said to Harlee that when he comes back, we want him to stay back. As much as he is wanting to get out there as quickly as possible, it is important when he does come back that he stays back.
“There is still a lot of football to be played this season and we will certainly need his experience and know-how for the latter part of the season.”
Expected return date: End of March
Tyreece John-Jules
The promising Arsenal forward has not played since suffering a quad injury on his Owls debut against Ipswich Town. He is back at his parent club receiving “intense treatment”.
What Moore said: “Tyreece is longer term. He is early in his rehab. It will be a little while yet in terms of where he is at and whether he captures part of the end of the season.”
Expected return date: April
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing
Moore stated Mendez-Laing could “potentially” be out for a number of weeks with the hamstring injury he suffered at home to Rotherham United. The former Middlesbrough player has scored two goals and claimed two assists in his 10 Owls outings.
What Moore said: “He is another one that is making some wonderful progress. He is looking strong.
“He is probably in the final part of where he needs to be at before he joins the main group.
“As long as he doesn’t have any setbacks over the next few days, I am very hopeful he will be able to join the main group at some stage next week.”
Expected return date: Next week
Olamide Shodipo
The Queens Park Rangers wide man is unavailable for selection due to a hamstring problem.
What Moore said: “He is starting to get back out on the pitch. He is doing his work with the sports science team at the moment.
“He is doing quite well.”
Expected return date: End of March
Dennis Adeniran
The midfielder has undergone hamstring surgery and will not play again this season.
What Moore said: “Dennis is out for the rest of the season and the whole group will rally around him because there is nothing worse for a player than to be on the treatment table for a long period of time.”
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