Former Rangers defender David Bates’ wretched spell with Sheffield Wednesday continued on Saturday afternoon with yet another omission from the matchday squad.
The 23-year-old joined the EFL Championship side on a season-long loan in August but has only made one appearance since then, in a narrow League Cup win over Rotherham.
Having initially been simply out of favour, in October, manager Garry Monk explained that the Scotland international’s continued absence was down to a hip flexor injury which he was on the verge of recovering from [Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Facebook].
He played 72 minutes for the Owls Reserves in a 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic last weekend [SWFC.co.uk], but it seems that wasn’t enough to convince his manager he was ready for a first-team return this afternoon.
Bates didn’t travel to the Hawthorns, as his club mates succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to West Brom.
He’s still yet to play a minute in the league, having been named on the bench just four times in 16 matches [Transfermarkt].
Its no doubt been a hugely disappointing campaign for Bates so far, after his largely impressive form with Hamburg in the Bundesliga 2. across 2018/19 earned him four appearances for his country.
He’ll be hoping that during the congested festive fixture list, he can prove his fitness and finally get a proper opportunity in the first team.
