Left-back Max Lowe and centre-back Sil Swinkels are edging closer to first team returns following injury lay-offs. The duo have missed the Owls’ last five matches against Bromley, Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United, Wigan Athletic and Stockport County due to hamstring injuries.

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The Owls ran out as 2-1 winners against Salford in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy on Tuesday evening, with Davis Keillor-Dunn and Jamal Lowe getting goals in the second half to cancel out Ben Woodburn’s opener.

Wednesday struggled in the opening stanza, but were much improved in the second - and Pedersen liked what he saw from his team as several players continued to get important minutes into their legs.

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The 20-year-old forward burst onto the scene almost exactly a year ago, getting his first Championship start and first senior goal away in a 2-0 win at Portsmouth. 10 days later he was on the scoresheet again, finding the net against Birmingham City.

Sadly for Brown, however, he had to deal with a hamstring issue that ultimately required surgery, and was ultimately ruled out for the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign.

Now, having spent some time back out on the grass at Middlewood Road, the attacker is nearing his return to action, and Henrik Pedersen has given some insight to The Wednesday Word regarding the timeline that lies ahead of him - including when he could be back out there for the Owls.

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The centre-back became a fan favourite early into his spell with the Owls, and his injury back in February of 2025 came as a real blow to the side. His absence has really been felt in trying times at Hillsborough.

Now, though, Bernard is on the brink of returning to the fold at senior level after 45 minutes with the U21s last weekend, and supporters will be itching to see how he gets on once he’s back in the mix for Henrik Pedersen’s side.

Speaking to The Wednesday Word after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Stockport County, the Dane explained the plans for the defender’s next step.

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The Owls and the Hatters played out a 0-0 draw at S6 on Saturday afternoon, with the away side certainly creating the better chances on what was a difficult game for the home side.

Stockport missed a few big chances to take all three points, but despite not claiming victory their manager was pleased with how they conducted themselves. Henrik Pedersen, meanwhile, bemoaned the lack of speed that his team played with.

Here’s part of what the two men in charge had to say…

Henrik Pedersen

“I think we played against a very strong Stockport team. I think it’s for sure the best team we have played against this season. We knew they would be a strong offensive team. They are strong in possession, but it’s also a team who create a lot of chances and have scored a lot of goals.

“I think the first half we were too passive. We changed it and second half we were much more dominant in the pressing and had many more good pressing situations, many more times where we won the ball. We have to take the next step and be stronger.

“I think offensively in the first half we struggled to get enough speed in the ball, but also patience enough to move them around and then speed up the game where we end up playing too many long balls, so we end up having a second ball game.

“Second half was better. We were much more brave to play and we had many more situations where we came high up on the pitch. But of course we want to create more and this is what we are working on.”

Jimmy McNulty

“We don't need to come here with any sort of imposter syndrome that we're not capable of winning 3-0. And today's performance was still worthy of a win, so don't take this too far.

“But it's my job to push these guys to capacity, and I think they're capable of more. I think if we had a bit more belief, I think we don't end up with the same amount of shots on target today when we had three times more shots than the opponent in general…

“Sheffield Wednesday, huge gargantuan club. The atmosphere is amazing, but we dreamed of playing here when we were boys. I dreamed of managing here. I want the dream to become reality when we actually come here. I don't think we need to feel too inferior because I genuinely don't think we are.”

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A foot injury sustained in training ruled the Ipswich Town loanee out of the League One clash. It remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old will link up with the Iraq national team going into the international break.

“He [Al-Hamadi] could not be part of the squad today,” Henrik Pedersen told the media. “He had light training today. I hope he will be fit in the next two to three days so he can start to train normal again.”

Centre-back Ricardo Santos and versatile forward Davis Keillor-Dunn were both withdrawn in the second half due to cramp. Eyebrows were raised over Pedersen’s decision to start Kieran Morrison on the bench. The talented winger replaced Keillor-Dunn but was unable to produce a moment of inspiration in the final third to unlock a well-organised Stockport side.

“I look every week at how we are training and then I make a decision on the starting XI,” said Pedersen. “We have a strong squad right now.”

When the Dane was asked if Morrison could have given them with width in the wide areas, Pedersen said: “We opened things up better when we had wingers in the second half. It helped us. Harry [Gray] did it really well when he came on.”

Wednesday produced a lacklustre performance against Stockport, registering just six shots at goal compared to the visitors 18. “We want to create much more and this is what we are working on,” said Pedersen.

Although Wednesday remain in the automatic promotion places after stretching their unbeaten league run to five matches, boos from the home fans greeted the final thistle.

Pedersen said: “We all want much, much more. The players are doing all they can to find this rhythm and to bring this team together. We are still young and we are working really hard to get this flow and speed into the game.”

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The Owls played out a stalemate against the Hatters on Saturday afternoon, becoming only the second team in nine games across all competitions to stop them from finding the back of the net.

But while another clean sheet will be welcomed, there are concerns at yet another goalless game for Wednesday’s attackers, and they’ll need to improve their efforts up front after the international break.

When asked if he saw goals in their future, the Dane was adamant that they’ll come eventually.

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It was always going to be one of the Owls’ biggest challenges of the season so far, and it certainly proved to be the case. Kieran Morrison was replaced by Davis Keillor-Dunn in the starting XI, and Ali Al-Hamadi missed out due to injury with Jaden Heskey taking his place on the bench.

The early stages of the game were untidy, with neither side really able to take control of things as both teams were lax in possession and gave the ball away far too cheaply.

It was Stockport who came to terms with things quicker, though, and started to knock the ball about nicely. An early chance fell the way of Harry Wood after Joe Lumley parried the ball into his path, but he couldn’t connect properly with the ball and blazed it over the bar. It was the first warning shot for Wednesday.

Another came shortly after. First it was Ryan Glover, who saw his header bounce off the upright, and then Ricardo Santos was on hand to clear Jack Diamond’s follow-up effort off the line. The home side were riding their luck.

Reece James was booked for a high challenge, Mason Burstow saw a header saved by Oliver Whatmuff, and Liam Cooper pulled off an excellent sliding tackle to stop the visitors getting a shot off as we approached half-time.

Wednesday improved in the final 10 minutes or so, but not by much. And they went into the break possibly a bit lucky to still be level.

It felt like the Owls were screaming out for a bit more width, for someone like Harry Gray or Morrison, but there were no changes as they came out for second stanza.

It didn’t take long for alterations, however, with Henrik Pedersen’s side still struggling to make much headway. Mason Burstow was almost found in the six-yard box by Keillor-Dunn, but the ball was behind him… Gray came on shortly afterwards to replace him.

A second change wasn’t far away, either, although DKD’s departure seemed to be a forced one after he seemed to be feeling the back of his leg. Morrison was the one who came on, and things did seem to improve in terms of the Owls’ attacking input.

Still the goals eluded the game, though, with Glover going the closest as his looping header landed on the roof of the net. Ricardo Santos seemed to signal to the bench that he’d run his race after a sliding block, and a double substitution was the reaction. Gabriel Otegbayo and Jaden Heskey replaced the centre back and Barry Bannan. Cooper took the armband.

Seven minutes were added on, but it was hard to see where a goal was coming from. 32,290 fans had turned up at Hillsborough to cheer on their team, but all left disappointed.

Bookings for Cooper and Yan Valery meant that three of the Owls’ back four would end the game with cautions - and with more cards than shots on target for the hosts. The boos at the final whistle were a clear message that Wednesdayites want to see more.

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After Saturday’s showdown with Stockport County, the Owls will have two weekends off from League One action. Their matches with Stevenage and Cambridge United have been postponed due to multiple national call-ups, leaving Wednesday without a league fixture until October 10 when they head to Huddersfield Town.

The change stems from FIFA’s decision to merge two international rounds ahead of the 2026/27 season. For Wednesday, it means an enforced break just as they were building momentum. The one silver lining is the likes of Sil Swinkels, Max Lowe and Jordi Liongola should be closer to returning as soon as the league campaign resumes.

On the international break, Pedersen said, “I think it’s way too long. I think it’s not the right thing to take three weeks without games. I would much more prefer a normal system and then we get a rhythm again instead of having a season with so many games and then we don’t have games for three weeks. I don’t think it’s the right way to do it.

“We should have the squad for this (a potential fixture pile-up), but I don’t think for football it’s...I would personally rather have the normal way to do it so we don’t have so long breaks without games.”

Early League One pace-setters Wednesday will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Stockport County tomorrow. There will be another bumper crowd at Hillsborough. More than 30,000 fans are expected to flock to S6 for the fourth league match running.

“There are so many Sheffield Wednesday fans who love our club and we all appreciate that we’ve had a good beginning points-wise and everyone is excited,” Pedersen told The Wednesday Word. “There is amazing support here.

“We are still in the beginning and we have so many things we need to do better but for us, we have had more training behind us and we want to take our levels higher. The players want to give the supporters a fantastic performance tomorrow.”

Stockport, last season’s beaten play-off finalists, sit eighth with nine points and arrive with a well-established identity.

Pedersen said, “Every game is a test of where we are; Stockport have built up a strong culture over the last three, four and five years and a strong style of play. They are now making the next step with this style of play. You can see they are a very solid team. Many players have played there for a long time. It will be a big test but it’s one we are really looking forward to.”

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Bannan, a modern-day Wednesday legend, made an emotional return to Hillsborough over the summer following a short spell at Millwall. The Scotland international has started seven of Wednesday’s eight fixtures across all competitions.

However, Bannan has yet to hit top gear this term and came in for criticism from some sections of the fanbase following Saturday’s goalless draw with Wigan Athletic.

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The Owls’ clash with the Hatters will be their last league fixture of the month after games against Stevenage and Cambridge United were called off due to international call-ups, and Henrik Pedersen will be desperate for his side to give themselves the best possible chance of staying top of the table whilst out of action.

Wednesday have been dealing with a whole host of injury issues, so there was plenty for the Dane to address on Friday afternoon when he sat down with the media at Middlewood Road…

Here’s what he had to say on the availability front:

Yan Valery and Sil Swinkels

"Yan has looked very good in training, so it's positive news with him, he has been strong.

"Next week, Sil will do a little more and by the second week he will be more integrated. We are looking forward to him being back again."

Ali Al-Hamadi

"We have six loan players, we can only use five in a squad… Ali had a challenge with his foot this week, he will have an assessment tomorrow, and we will find out more."

Di’Shon Bernard

"We were all very pleased for Dish. There were a lot of first team players there to support him because they have seen how hard he has worked.

"Now we need to find the next game for him. Hopefully he can play on Tuesday. He is a top leader and what has happened with Dish means a lot to everyone in the squad."

The Opposition

Stockport are still missing their defender, Brad Hills, and their attacker, Adama Sidibeh, as they continue to recover from injuries that have kept them out so far in 2026/27, but there hasn’t been any suggestion that they have any fresh concerns.

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It has been confirmed that the likes of Ali Al-Hamadi, Kieran Morrison and Sean Fusire have been called up by their respective national teams, and the decision announced today suggests that others have been, too.

Yan Valery (Tunisia) and Harry Gray (England U20s) are the most likely options, but Jamal Lowe (Jamaica) may also be due a call. All three nations are due to announce their squads today.

A statement from the club read, “Sheffield Wednesday’s home clash with Cambridge United has been postponed due to international call-ups.

“A new date for the game, which was due to take place on Saturday 3 October at Hillsborough, will be announced in due course.

“Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Wednesday’s away trip to Stevenage would also be postponed after the hosts received the required number of international call-ups, and now the Owls have met the same criteria.

“Wednesday’s EFL Trophy matches against Salford City on Tuesday 22 September and Sunderland Under-21s on Tuesday 6 October will go ahead as scheduled.”

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Owls boss, Henrik Pedersen, will be speaking to the media on Friday afternoon ahead of their clash with the Hatters, but before that, here at The Wednesday Word we thought we’d offer a full run-through of the injury state of play at S6 as a number of players draw closer to their return.

There’ve been ankle injuries, hamstring problems, a dislocated shoulder and knee concerns, but Wednesday have managed to remain top of the League One table up to now - and victory at the weekend would solidify their spot there.

Here’s a full rundown of SWFC’s current injury situation, including when some are expected back in action…

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Harkes, who became a fan favourite at S6 during the early 1990s, was present for the Owls’ curtain-raiser against Bradford City, reuniting with the likes of David Hirst and Chris Waddle as Arise continue to honour Wednesday players of the past.

For the former midfielder, though, there could well be a grander role for him to play in the rebirth of his old club, a club that remains incredibly close to his heart.

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It was reported earlier this month that the Owls were likely to see their fixtures altered this month due to international call-ups, but their clash with the Boro has actually been moved due to their opponents.

“The Owls’ away fixture at Stevenage, scheduled for Saturday 26 September, has been postponed due to the hosts receiving the required number of international call-ups,” a statement read.

“A new date for the Sky Bet League One clash at the SPORTA Arena will be confirmed in due course.

“Regarding the Owls’ home clash with Cambridge, full details on call-ups in the Wednesday squad will be confirmed this week. Wednesday are due to host the U’s on Saturday 3 October.

“Should the criteria be met and a further postponement occur, supporters will be informed at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Wednesday are likely to receive a number of call-ups over the next few days, and you can find details on the criteria by checking out the following article:

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It was a result that meant Wednesday stayed top of League One, but it’s not a game that will live long in the memory considering the lack of goals and - for large parts - lack of real excitement.

The first half was a lively one, but things slowed down in the second stanza, and ultimately a draw was probably a fair result.

Here’s a bit of what the two managers had to say…

Henrik Pedersen

“First half, I think, in general, we were good on the ball. They were very, very compact, but I thought we were good. The next level is to have a higher ball speed so we can move them around a little bit quicker.

“The next step is also to bypass more opponents and also to have more situations where we speed up the game. But it’s not so easy because they are physically strong, they are very compact.

“We then had more moments where we created good chances. But, of course, we want to have more… In the big picture, I think it’s a very good beginning, but we are always looking behind the result and seeing how the progress is, and what we want to do better in the future.

“Here, we have a lot to do still, and we will have this for a long time. But again, a new training week, where we can train even more.”

Gary Caldwell

“My teams have been hammered here in the past,” he told Wigan Today. “They are a team that scores goals left, right and centre, their xG (expected goals) is always incredible.

“But we kept them out by showing a clear identity, we passed the ball and we controlled the game… I man-marked my old mate Barry Bannan again - something I’ve done before with Exeter - and he’s fuming in there.

“I’ll have to go and apologise to him now, but you have to do what you have to do to win a game of football, and he is the talisman in this team.”

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The Owls boss admitted that he was pleased to get a clean sheet against the Latics as the two sides failed to breach each other’s defences at Hillsborough, however there were certain elements of Wednesday’s game that Pedersen wasn’t happy about.

“It was not a game at the level we want to play,” he said afterwards. “I think the first half we had the ball a lot and we had options to speed up the game and created chances, but generally we needed a higher ball speed, more opposite runs on the final line to create more situations behind them. We also needed more situations to bring players into the box.

“Defensively we were not dominant but the duels and second balls were very powerful against us today. The second half they were even more compact and we had too many passes in front of them with players having their back to the goal.

“We have to improve a lot when opponents are deep so that we can have higher ball speeds and better combinations higher up the pitch, bringing more people in the box.”

Wednesday now turn their attentions to Stockport County next Saturday as they look to extend their unbeaten run further.

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That is according to boss Henrik Pedersen as the Owls put the finishing touches to their preparations for Saturday’s tussle with bottom-of-the-table Wigan Athletic.

After a slow start to the campaign, Valery has starred in Wednesday’s recent wins on the road at Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United. The Tunisia international was the matchwinner against Posh, rising highest to nod home Kieran Morrison’s corner to spark wild celebration scenes among the 3,900-plus travelling fans.

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With Harry Gray pushing for a first-team recall after missing three matches due to concussion protocols, Pedersen has got six loan players vying for five places in the matchday squad… And he’s had a meeting with them to discuss the situation.

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