Momo Diaby could be closing in on his return to first-team action for Sheffield Wednesday.
Momo Diaby joined Sheffield Wednesday from Portimonense on loan with the option-to-buy in August, before going onto make his senior debut the following week.
The midfielder completed 20 passes, one interception and three tackles before he was forced off with an injury on the hour mark during the Owls’ defeat to Preston North End.
Initially expected to not be too serious, Diaby was eventually left out of Sheffield Wednesday’s 24-man EFL squad list, which reached its maximum capacity when Marvin Johnson was registered in October.
This means that Diaby is unable to play until Sheffield Wednesday are able to register players again, allowing him to not rush his recovery and step up his involvement with the U-21s in their 2-2 draw with Birmingham City last week.
After playing the full 90 minutes for the youth side, Diaby now looks ready to return to the senior team and is awaiting the signal that he can get back to it once he is registered.
As per The Star, EFL clubs must now submit a maximum of 25 names to a new list at the end of the January transfer window, but can register and de-register current squad members from January 1.
The EFL rules handbook reads: “Changes to the Squad List can be made at any time during the Transfer Window. Clubs do not need to apply to the EFL for approval to make the change, Clubs only need to make the changes via iFAS.
“In order to be eligible for a League Match during the Transfer Window, the Player (unless an exclusion applies) must be registered with the EFL and be included on the Squad List before the relevant League Match. The EFL recommends uploading the updated Squad List not less than 24 hours before the relevant League Match.”
While the EFL recommend registering new players no less than 24 hours before the match, there would be nothing stopping Sheffield Wednesday registering him if they wanted to make him available for the clash with Hull City on New Year’s Day.
Who’s place will Momo Diaby take?
It’s unclear whether the club actually plans to do this, but we can surely be certain that he will be registered in time for the FA Cup tie with Cardiff City next weekend.
Welcoming Momo Diaby into the 25-man squad will mean de-registering a player too, though.
There are many possibilities of who that could be, but John Buckley seems the most likely.
The midfielder has struggled for minutes since joining for Blackburn Rovers, while his future at Hillsborough looks even more doubtful after suffering an injury against QPR.