Rio Shipston is scheduled to play his farewell game for Cork City this week before returning to Sheffield Wednesday.
Cork hosts St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night, after which Shipston will travel home to begin preseason training at Middlewood Road. The Rebel Army were hoping to prolong the 20-year-old’s loan stay in the League of Ireland Premier Division, but it does not appear that will happen.
Shipston has racked up some vital minutes during his loan stay in Ireland, playing 20 games and assisting twice, and will now be looking to force his way into the debate on Wednesday as a number of players go at the end of their contracts.
The central midfielder, who has played five senior games for the Owls, is expected to participate in first-team training alongside a number of other young players at Hillsborough, but it is unclear who will oversee the sessions given the ongoing speculation about manager Danny Röhl’s future.
Shipston, who has previously played for both Röhl and Darren Moore, will be anxious to establish a name for himself at his boyhood club, and a disjointed preseason while under embargo and a fee constraint may actually open up an opportunity for the Wednesday academy graduate.
He’s likely to be one of a number of academy players to make the first team when preseason truly begins next week, but first he’ll be trying to end his time in Cork on a high note as they try to halt a troubling winless streak this weekend at Turners Cross Stadium.
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