Back, bloodied, staying put: Sheffield Wednesday’s centre back situation explained

Sheffield Wednesday aren’t short of centre backs, and there’s plenty to talk about in the Owls defence – including injuries, contracts and loan spells.

Liam Cooper took a whack to the head against Huddersfield Town. Image: Steve Ellis

Wednesday have used six different centre backs in 2026/27 so far, and that’s not including those who have been asked to stand in there at different points in matches. The nature of things up to now has meant that Henrik Pedersen has had to rotate them too.

It’s been another busy week in terms of the Owls’ central defence, too, with Ricardo Santos having been ruled out with an injury, Liam Cooper taking a boot to the face, and Joe Emery seeing his loan spell at South Shields extended to November 7^th – but that’s not the full story in that department.

Here’s a rundown of where things stand in terms of Pedersen’s central options as things stand…