Joey Pelupessy braced for Sheffield Wednesday’s run-in

Manager Garry Monk said this week he felt two-and-a-half weeks of contact training was “inadequate” preparation for the first of nine games his side face in 32 days.

Pelupessy, who this week agreed a 12-month contact extension, is looking forward to returning, but admits he cannot say for sure yet if he will be ready.

“We’ve only had a few days of contact training so that’s not much,” said the Dutchman. “I’ll need to see how I feel next week. Hopefully I’ll be feeling much better then. I am fit and I think the other players are fit but contact, that’s a different thing to just running. I hope it’s enough to start the games again.

“I feel ready but when you play a game, that’s when you can really feel how you are, during and after the game.”

Until this week’s extension, it was unclear if Pelupessy would be available for the full run-in, with his contract due to expire on June 30.

“I am happy at this club so to stay here, especially in these times with coronavirus, it makes you really happy,” he said.

“I came from Holland two-and-a-half years ago and the time has gone really quickly.

“I have enjoyed it here, playing at a higher level in a different country. To play for a big club like Sheffield Wednesday is amazing.

“If it goes well and the club is still happy with me and the manager and I am happy, then of course you hope to stay longer (but) I think in these times you have to be happy with one more year extra.”

One Wednesday employee tested positive for Covid-19 this week, and Pelupessy says it has focused minds on the return-to-training protocols.

“We have a good protocol and that is what we are following every day,” he said. “We are tested every couple of days. There is not much more we can do but there is still one guy positive. It still says you need to be careful and follow the protocols really strictly.

“It’s not that I don’t feel safe.

“We had a group chat with the manager and the players to say we had to focus on the protocol again and be really sure you are doing all the stuff necessary.

“They’ve changed it a little bit in the car park now we’re playing in bigger groups but I think if we keep doing what we were doing two weeks ago, we’ll be doing it well but it can always happen that someone tests positive, you hope not. It’s happened, so we have to be careful.”

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