Challinor expects Plymouth game to go ahead

New Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Challinor expects his first league game in charge against Plymouth Argyle to go ahead as planned, despite the club having players called up for international duty. The League One fixture is scheduled for Saturday 14th November at Hillsborough, with Wednesday sitting ninth and Plymouth fifth in the table.

Challinor, appointed this week after leaving Stockport County, admitted there is still some uncertainty around the fixture. "At the minute, we're preparing and we're prepared in terms of our schedule for next week, that the game will go ahead on Saturday," Challinor said.

League One clubs can usually apply for a postponement if three of their players are selected for international duty, a threshold Wednesday have met with call-ups for Jordi Liongola, Sean Fusire and Kieran Morrison.

However, as per EFL rules, in order for a postponement request to be made, the players who have been called up must meet certain criteria, including starting or making a substitute appearance before the 75th minute in at least half of the club's matches or four of its last five. Liongola has made just two appearances before a hamstring injury in mid-August and Fusire has featured only three times in all competitions, meaning neither satisfies the requirements.

As a result, Morrison's call-up is currently the only one that counts towards the eligible total, leaving the game likely to proceed unless the situation changes over the weekend.