Sheffield Wednesday take action over complicated player issue v Derby County | OneFootball

Yan Valery and Sean Fusire are set to compete in the African Cup of Nations

Sheffield Wednesday have contacted Tunisia and Zimbabwe in the hope that they can be granted permission to have two of their stars available for their Championship clash with Derby County.

An already threadbare Owls squad is set to be gutted even further for a few weeks over the Christmas period due to the African Cup of Nations.

Both Yan Valery and Sean Fusire are set to head to Morocco to represent Tunisia and Zimbabwe, respectively, and FIFA have ruled that clubs must make their players available to travel to the tournament no later than Monday, December 15.

However, according to The Sheffield Star, Sheffield Wednesday, who have a game on that day against Derby, are hoping to push that date back to the 16th in the hopes that they can have the duo for the final game before the tournament starts.

Sheffield Wednesday awaiting response regarding player availability

The Sheffield Star have reported that Sheffield Wednesday have asked both Tunisia and Zimbabwe's football federations if both Valery and Fusire could travel a day after the set arrival date, meaning they'd be able to play the game against Derby.

With the 15th being a Monday, most clubs will not have this issue, as they'll play over the weekend before bidding farewell to their players on Monday morning.

"They should travel on the 15th, and on this weekend we would play on the 12th, 13th or 14th, but for us, we play on the Monday," Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen explained.

"So we have asked them if they can fly on the Tuesday to allow them to play on the Monday.

"We haven't had an official answer yet, if they are allowed to do it or if they are not allowed to do it.

"They [the federations] have to decide if they can come one day later. I really hope this is possible."

Valery is one of three Wednesday players, alongside Svante Ingelsson and Barry Bannan, to have started every one of the Owls' 18 Championship games this season, while Fusire, who hadn't made a league appearance for Sheffield Wednesday before this year, has started each of the last eight.

Both will be a big miss for Henrik Pedersen over the course of the tournament, and he's hoping that his side won't be left short-handed for longer than necessary.

AFCON presents a pride-filled blow for short-handed Sheffield Wednesday

To be able to have representatives of your club at a major tournament invokes pride, but for Sheffield Wednesday, it presents even more squad problems in a campaign mired with them.

The Owls have been left short-handed in terms of senior players this year due to contract breaches over the summer by former owner Dejphon Chansiri, leading to players departing, and then transfer embargoes stopping the club from bringing in suitable replacements.

There has been some respite in recent weeks, as both Liam Cooper and Nathan Redmond were allowed to join Wednesday after the EFL opened up two free agent spots for the club.

But it seems that they'll be back to square one in a few weeks, with a couple of important players set to face a period away from Hillsborough.

Fusire could find himself back available shortly after the final group game on December 29, but Valey's Tunisia are one of the favourites to go all the way. With the final being on January 18th, it may be a whole month until Wednesday sees one of their key men return.

Therefore, ensuring that they remain available for as long as possible before the Owls embark on a busy Christmas period will be key, and Henrik Pedersen will be hoping that Tunisia and Zimbabwe grant permission for the Wednesday duo to arrive a day late.