SKILFUL Wednesday winger Jermaine Johnson has been called up to the Jamaican squad for their World Cup qualifying matches against Mexico on October 11, Honduras, on October 15 and Canada on October 19.
The Owls' midfielder of the year made his 40th and last appearance for the Reggae Boyz in June 2006 in a friendly against England at Old Trafford which the hosts won 6-0 with Peter Crouch scoring a memorable hat-trick.
Jamaica are still holding o
ut hope of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa despite defeats to Mexico and Honduras at the beginning of the month that saw manager Rene Simoes sacked.
He has been replaced by former Liverpool and England star John Barnes.
Meanwhile, Owls fans may find it difficult to get an appropriate reaction when looking at the club's league fixtures for the coming weeks.
They might take heart, for instance, at the prospect of Tuesday's clash with off-pace Championship new boys Nottingham Forest, who will be playing their second away game in the space of four days and the trip to similarly struggling Barnsley on October 21.
Both Forest and the Tykes have found it difficult to escape the bottom three in the opening month of the campaign and will provide ample opportunity for Wednesday to prove that they belong nowhere near the relegation zone that they circled dangerously last season.
However, this is counter-balanced by next Saturday's long t
rip to Plymouth to meet an Argyle side whose manager, former Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock, has vowed to improve the side's home form.
In addition, Plymouth's star striker, Belgian international Emile Mpenza, will be looking to return to fitness and form after almost a year on the sidelines with injury.
The October 25 trip to St Andrews to meet title favourites Birmingham City is also a potential cause for furrowed brows.
Alex McLeish's side will be looking at every home fixture as a must-win game in the push to bounce back into the Premier League following last season's final-day relegation.
Wednesday fans hardly need reminding of the damage that newly-relegated sides can do having gone down 6-0 to Reading earlier this month.
For many Owls fans the biggest game of the season so far comes on October 19 with the first of the Steel City derbies at Hillsborough and with both Sheffield sides currently in a mid-table position in the Championship, the match promises to be a thriller.
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