Yan Valery at Sheffield Wednesday. Image: Alex Young

The right‑back was a surprise omission from the matchday squad in the Owls’ League One opener, prompting fresh speculation over his future. Pedersen moved quickly to play down any transfer‑related concerns, insisting Valery was simply fatigued.

He told the media that the defender had had a ‘tight groin’ after training, saying, “He was tired after training and we didn’t want to take any risks. I hope he will be ready soon.”

Speculation has been rife that Valery, who featured for Tunisia in the World Cup, could leave Wednesday before the end of the transfer window. When asked if his absence was linked to the ongoing transfer talk, the Wednesday boss replied, “I don’t think so. He would have played if he could have played. He had the feeling that the risk was too big and it was better to let him recover.”

Meanwhile, the Dane was unable to provide clarity on the injury suffered by Tyler Onyango, who was forced off just 14 minutes into his Owls debut and looked visibly distraught as he headed down the tunnel.

Centre‑back Ricardo Santos and midfielder Billy Mitchell, though, could return to contention for Thursday’s Yorkshire derby against Bradford City after missing the trip to Orient.

“Both of them are training well, so we’ll see what happens over the next couple of days,” Pedersen said. “We have only a few injuries at the moment and that’s what we want. There’s a good culture, everyone is pleased with the win today, but they’re hungry for much, much more.”

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Why Yan Valery missed Sheffield Wednesday v…