Alex Neil is determined to keep Sheffield Wednesday in the dark as far as Nathan Broadhead's fitness is concerned ahead of tomorrow's play-off sem-final. In-form striker Broadhead limped out of Sunderland's final game of the season at the weekend, shortly after scoring the only goal in the win at Morecambe.
With Broadhead having already missed a significant chunk of the season with a hamstring injury, his latest problem immediately sparked fears that the on-loan Everton man could miss out on the play-off games - and that would leave Sunderland with just one senior centre-forward in Ross Stewart. Neil spoke to the media this morning at the Academy of Light and Broadhead's fitness was at the top of the agenda.
But the Black Cats boss always keep his cards close to his chest as far as injuries are concerned, and he was in no mood to give Owls boss Darren Moore any clues over whether Broadhead could be involved in the play-off semi-final first leg at the Stadium of Light tomorrow night. And he expects Moore to adopt a similar approach with Barry Bannan, who was substituted last weekend with a muscle injury, although he believes the influential midfielder will be fit to play.
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"We'll make a call on Broady," said Neil. "I'm sure they'll be cagey with Barry Bannan, making out that he's not going to be fit, as well - he'll be fit!"
Sunderland go into tomorrow night's game on the back of a 13-game unbeaten run which was them finish in fifth place in League One, one place and one point behind Wednesday. The second leg of the semi-final will take place on Monday evening at Hillsborough, and the winners will play either MK Dons or Wycombe in the final at Wembley on May 21.
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