Newcastle United midfielder excluded from 25-man squad - out of contract this summer

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has revealed adding more loan players to his squad last month was the reason for Jeff Hendrick’s brutal squad omission.

The Newcastle United loanee has played just 13 minutes of league action since November 29 but was given a run-out for the FA Cup replay with Coventry City last week. That ended up a 4-1 defeat for the Owls and may well have been his last appearance at Hillsborough.

Hendrick, who joined Newcastle in 2020, arrived at Wednesday on a season-long loan last summer but missed two months over the festive period with an ankle injury. They have failed to win any of the five games he started for the club.

Championship rules state no more than five loan players can be named in a matchday squad, with Wednesday having seven on the books. The Owls added James Beadle, Kristian Pedersen, Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo in January until the end of the season - an ominous sign for Hendrick.

The 32-year-old’s Toon deal expires at the end of the campaign which means he will be on the hunt for his fifth club in four years. Speaking to The Star, Wednesday boss Rohl praised Hendrick’s attitude but admitted the influx of loan arrivals last month forced his hand.

"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."