Barry Bannan's chances of playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Oxford United assessed after hamstring scan results

INJURY DOUBT: Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan strained his hamstring at Exeter City

Darren Moore says Sheffield Wednesday will not take any risks with Barry Bannan on Saturday, even though scans on the midfielder's hamstring were better than expected.

Bannan is not just the Owls' captain but their talisman and arguably the best player in League One, so his absence for any period of time would be tough for a title-chasing team to take.

But with a busy Festive period approaching, Moore is conscious of not pushing the 33-year-old out too early and doing more damage, so he may still sit out Saturday's visit of Oxford United.

"Baz is fine today," said Moore. "When the results came back from the scan it was nowhere near what we all anticipated. It was just a little bit of a strain

"He's back involved but not quite involved in the first team but he's in a good position. We feel if he misses tomorrow's game, he should be back in by next week.

"The decision will be do we risk him or not? We'll only risk him if we feel that he can get through the game. If not, we'll just take him out of it and know he'll be fit for the next game."

Slowly finding their feet after a poor start to the season, Oxford are unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions and therefore not to be taken lightly but traditionally the busiest part of the campaign is on the horizon.

This is the Owls' last game before Christmas but they are at Fleetwood Town on Boxing Day, host Port Vale on the Thursday of Christmas week, and kick off the new year with a home game against Cambridge United, then on January 7 a glamorous FA Cup third-round tie at home to Newcastle United.

A decision will be made on matchday.

"Baz is an experienced campaigner who knows his body," said Moore. "His appetite is to play in every game.

"Sometimes we've just got to look at the context of the injury and the season ahead.

"If he misses tomorrow he'll be back in training by the early part of next week."

George Byers could offer a midfield alternative after what Moore described as a good week of training, and the manager reported no other new injuries to contend with.

Wednesday have been able to train at Hillsborough this week thanks to the famous old ground's undersoil heating, and it should give confidence the game will go ahead despite the cold weather.