'It's been a minute' - Di'Shon Bernard reacts to big Sheffield Wednesday step
It's been 416 days since Di'Shon Bernard last played for Sheffield Wednesday, but he's nearing a return to action.
Anyone watching on that February afternoon in 2025 could sense it might be a bad one as they saw ‘Big Dish’ writhing in pain on the Hawthorns turf. Well, aside from some of the West Bromwich Albion fans who decided to boo him.
Few would have foreseen quite how bad it would be for the former Manchester United man, though, who has spent over a year recovering from surgery, undergoing rehabilitation and continuing his long road back to match fitness.
He’s not there yet, but on Tuesday he was back out on the grass with his teammates once again as he took the latest big step forward, and their reaction said it all.
Di’Shon Bernard is smiling again
Slaps on the back, arms around his shoulders, smiles all around… Most of them have had long-term injuries at some point, so they know how important these moments can be. And for Bernard himself, he’s ready to keep pushing onwards.
“It’s time for the real work,” he said this week. “It’s been a minute! But no, the sun’s out, and it’s nice to get the legs going again. Hopefully we can kick on from here now, you know what I mean? It’s been hard… All the lads know, they see me in the gym every day working.
“But it lifts me up, you know. Seeing everyone being happy for me, being outside. It gives me another energy boost to keep going, and the finish line is near. It’s been nice seeing them.”
“Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he later said on Twitter.
We won’t be seeing him again this season, according to Henrik Pedersen. After so long out, he’s not yet ready for that. His presence has been sorely missed, though, and there’s absolutely no doubt about the sort of asset he could be in League One as the Owls rebuild gets underway.