Exeters Pierce Sweeney out of Sheffield Wednesday clash

Exeter will be without Pierce Sweeney for Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday.

Defender Sweeney was taken off in the 24th minute when Exeter last played on Boxing Day after picking up a hamstring injury and will miss the third-round tie.

Boss Matt Taylor has stressed the importance of looking after City’s players who have had Covid-19, so they look likely to sit out despite the club reporting a full set of negative coronavirus test results this week.

The League Two side have not played a competitive fixture for two weeks after their trips to Newport and Barrow were called off due to waterlogged and frozen pitches respectively.

Academy coach Andy Holdsworth will be in charge of Wednesday after the Championship outfit confirmed “a significant number of club personnel” had tested positive for Covid-19 this week.

The Owls announced on Thursday that caretaker boss Neil Thompson and his temporary assistants Lee Bullen and Steven Haslam are among those affected and said they will miss the trip.

Wednesday’s Middlewood Road training ground is closed until further notice and it remains to be seen how many first-team players will have to miss the game as a result of the outbreak.

Josh Windass was taken off in the first half of Wednesday’s win over Derby last week and could be unavailable, while injured defender Aden Flint returned to parent club Cardiff earlier this week.