5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday | OneFootball

5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday | OneFootball

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·19 August 2026

5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday

Article image:5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday

These six players will be missing out on this Thursday's all-Yorkshire affair

The first Thursday night game of the new League One campaign promises to be a brilliant one, as Sheffield Wednesday host Bradford City.


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The two Yorkshire-based promotion hopefuls are facing off in league action for the first time since February 2005, when the Bantams came out on top at Hillsborough.

In fact, Bradford did the double over Wednesday that year, despite the Owls finishing the campaign in the top six and earning promotion, while their West Yorkshire rivals finished in 11th.

Both got off to winning starts on the opening day. Henrik Pedersen's side won away at Leyton Orient, while the Bantams strolled to victory against Peterborough United at Valley Parade, so a win for either side will see them go top for at least two days, ahead of everyone else playing on Saturday.

With a chance to inflict an early blow in what both sides will hope to be a promotion-challenging campaign, these players will be watching on from the sidelines.

Tyler Onyango

Article image:5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday

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Starting with the hosts, Sheffield Wednesday's injury list grew 14 minutes into the opening day after Tyler Onyango was forced off with a knee issue against Leyton Orient.

And in a truly devastating update, Henrik Pedersen stated during his press conference ahead of the Bradford clash that the 23-year-old will be out for some time after injuring his ACL.

The former Everton man has struggled with staying fit throughout his young career thus far, with a couple of loan spells at Stockport County in the last two seasons being curtailed through hamstring injuries.

Seeing him break down so early into the campaign was difficult to see, as was the diagnosis of an ACL injury.

Cole McGhee

Article image:5 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City on Thursday

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Young centre-back Cole McGhee likely won't be seen until the new year, after the 20-year-old dislocated his shoulder in pre-season.

Di'Shon Bernard

The wait for Di'Shon Bernard to make his return from the terrible knee injury he sustained in February 2025 is nearing an end, which will be a big boost for Sheffield Wednesday in League One.

The 25-year-old was being integrated back into team training around the time of the EFL Cup clash, so a return shouldn't be too far away, but in an intense Yorkshire derby, Henrik Pedersen may decide to go with some more match-sharp players.

Tyreik Wright

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As for Bradford, Tyreik Wright missed the opening-day win against Peterborough after picking up an injury in training.

While the extent of the injury is unknown, it may be the case that the 24-year-old's problem leads the Bantams to look for reinforcements in the final few weeks of the window.

Even if it's just a minor twinge, it's likely that Wright won't be involved at Hillsborough.

Stephen Humphrys

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And Stephen Humphrys missed big chunks of pre-season and the opening two competitive games for Bradford, the latter due to reporting illness in the lead-up to the EFL Cup clash with Rochdale.

Graham Alexander reported ahead of the game against Peterborough that the 28-year-old had a lot of catching up to do, and with the Bantams having plenty of attacking options alongside him, he could be another not risked on Thursday night.

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