The 24-year-old joined Wednesday on loan from Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers on deadline day of the summer window and made 13 appearances in a difficult half-season with the Owls. His last appearance for the club came from the bench in the Owls’ Hillsborough win against QPR on December 16, when he suffered a shoulder injury.
The Star understands that Buckley will return to Blackburn tomorrow (Tuesday January 2) to begin his recovery from that shoulder issue and that once the termination of his loan is made official he will spend the rest of the campaign as a Rovers player. Speaking after their New Years Day win over Hull City, Owls boss Danny Röhl suggested there would be a statement over the future of one unnamed loan player this week.
Blackburn were keen to stress the presence of a termination option at their end when the initial deal to bring Buckley to S6 was announced. Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has since spoken about keeping a close eye on the midfielder’s performances and made clear the Ewood Park club would keep their options open when the new year came around. Buckley’s injury is said to be a serious one and it remains to be seen when he may be back available for selection.
Buckley is one of several Wednesday players who has spent time on the sidelines in recent weeks, though the picture is looking a little brighter in terms of availability after the Tigers win. Josh Windass was able to start his first match in six and there were substitute appearances for the returning Momo Diaby, Michael Smith and Mallik Wilks.
Röhl is keen to freshen-up his squad this month with new faces and will need to move players on to do so given that the Owls squad is at its 25-man limit even with Buckley moving on.