HOOPER SUFFERS FURTHER INJURY MISERY

SHEFFIELD Wednesday striker Gary Hooper has suffered a setback in his recovery from a groin injury and is due to undergo further tests.

The 30-year-old former Norwich, Celtic and Scunthorpe forward suffered a hip injury in December and has been sidelined for the past nine months.

The Championship club are now seeking a second opinion after Hooper reported he was still in pain following a 60-minute appearance for the Owls’ under-23 team last week.

Hooper, who began his career as a Tottenham youth player before going on to make 69 appearances for Grays Athletic, has been ruled out of training with the senior side while his latest injury is checked out.

Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay confirmed the player would be sent for tests and a second opinion due to the length of the injury and lack of progress.

Luhukay said: “Gary has not trained fully with the team this week so he must go to a second opinion to another doctor because he still has pain.

“It’s frustrating, but we must live with the situation that it will take time to come back to 100 per cent in the team training. It’s frustrating and disappointing for him.”

Hooper moved to Hillsborough permanently in January 2016 after a loan spell from Norwich earlier that same season and has scored 30 goals in 83 appearances for Wednesday.