Newcastle United midfielder axed from 25-man squad offered hope of surprise recall

Newcastle United midfielder Jeff Hendrick could return to Sheffield Wednesday's squad, despite being left off their 25-man EFL Registration List.

The former Republic of Ireland, who is out of contract at Newcastle this summer, joined the Owls on a season-long loan deal in the summer but has made just 10 Championship appearances, his last being on December 2. Hendrick's last altogether was Wednesday's 4-1 FA Cup defeat to Coventry City in January.

Hendrick has been ineligible to appear in league matches since the turn of the year after manager Danny Rohl left him, Lee Gregory and Callum Paterson out in hope of signing free agents that would aid Wednesday's battle against the drop.

Rohl was expected to sign Germany international Nico Schulz former Borussia Dortmund man spent time training with the club at Middlewood Road last month. However, a deal was not pursued, offering Hendrick hope of a recall. The registration deadline is at 5pm on Thursday, March 28.

"At the moment there is nobody more," Rohl told The Star last week. "We will come to a point in the next weeks where it does not work. To bring a new person in with only a few weeks, they would have to adapt to the philosophy and style of football. It would be more and more difficult for them to be on the same page and in the same direction. My players have a high credit from my side; they are fighting, they are mentally strong. It is good to see.

"In this situation, to get a player to come in and make an impact, it is difficult. At the moment there are no other players in the market. If something happens then OK but at the moment I am not really convinced that there are any more players to come in."#

Speaking previously, Rohl praised Hendrick's professionalism.

"He (Hendrick) played some minutes in the cup which was good,” Rohl said. “There is also a learning from my side that you have an FA Cup list and a league list. We have seven loans and so we have to make decisions. This is part of the reason why (Hendrick has been axed from the squad).

"He is still involved and I think maybe when I look to the next 15 games it could be that he is helpful. He has trained, he is professional. All of my players have taken the situation how it is. This is not normal, when I compare this to my stations before, you have players who are disappointed and they show this. But my group is fantastic, it is outstanding what they are doing. It's great to see."