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When Sheffield Wednesday winger Rolando Aarons limped out of the warm-up before the Owls’ clash with Stoke there would have been fears over the club’s slight chance of making the play-offs.

The Newcastle loanee has been hugely impressive since arriving at Hillsborough and his absence was extremely notable as Steve Bruce’s men drew 0-0 with the Potters last month.

The manager, therefore, would not have seen the impact George Boyd and Marco Matias would have on the side upon their reintroduction to the team.

With Aarons set to return to training, though, Bruce is now faced with a major selection headache he didn’t think he’d have.

On the chalkboard

The fact that Bruce has managed to get Boyd and Matias playing well just about sums up the impact he’s had in South Yorkshire.

The club have lost just one game under his stewardship since he walked through the doors in February, and they look a shadow of the side they were during a horrendous run under Jos Luhukay earlier in the campaign.

With Aarons missing against Stoke it only emphasised how important he’d become to the Owls. However, they’re now in a situation where they may be better off not playing him.

Wednesday will surely have to win all of their remaining games to stand any chance of making the play-offs but some sense of caution has to be taken when they face high-flying Leeds on Saturday evening.

Against Nottingham Forest in their 3-0 win in midweek, they looked a far more balanced side with Boyd demonstrating a surprising work rate up and down the left-hand side. Matias, meanwhile, offered a purpose in front of goal rarely seen from Wednesday’s wide players in 2018/19.

As a result, they can’t afford to change things up just to accommodate the return of Aarons.

Despite Boyd’s overall performances this term, he deserves another chance and in a game that could have big consequences for either side, his discipline and experience will prove key.