The 6 players set to miss Sheffield Wednesday v Bolton Wanderers on Saturday | OneFootball

The Owls will be without four of their men on Saturday, whereas Bolton are short by two

A new era begins for both Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers this weekend as the two sides meet at Hillsborough in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The occasion carries added significance for the Owls, attempting to draw a line under the turbulence of the Dejphon Chansiri era.

More than 23,000 season tickets have been sold under new ownership, and Henrik Pedersen has been backed to reshape a squad capable of contending for promotion, with Mason Burstow, Louie Barry and Ricardo Santos among his most prominent additions.

Bolton arrive at Hillsborough for their own first competitive test since sealing a return to the Championship via the play-offs.

Steven Schumacher has made six signings this summer but has been candid about the difficulty of operating with what he expects to be among the smaller budgets in the division, having lost out on a number of targets.

The Wanderers head coach has drawn comparisons with his time at Plymouth Argyle, where he oversaw promotion from League One with modest resources, and has been clear that Saturday's tie will not be treated as an extension of pre-season.

Both managers, however, face selection difficulties, with six players in total unavailable for the fixture.

Sheffield Wednesday

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Ricardo Santos

The summer signing from Swansea City is yet to make his Wednesday debut after a pre-season disrupted by a knee injury. Pedersen revealed the centre-back has been training but is not quite ready to feature against his former club, with the head coach hopeful of having him available from next week onwards.

Dishon Bernard

The defender remains another option missing from Pedersen's back line heading into the weekend, adding to the selection headache at the heart of Wednesday's defence. The centreback has finally returned to training after suffering a knee injury in the 24/25 season - but the Wanderers clash comes a little too soon.

Cole McGhee

The young centre-back was forced off just five minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in the goalless draw at Accrington Stanley, having dislocated his shoulder. Pedersen confirmed the 20-year-old will now face a spell on the sidelines as a result.

George Brown

25/26’s breakthrough striker remains unavailable through injury and is expected to be out of action for a number of weeks yet, meaning he won't be involved in the Carabao Cup tie.

Bolton Wanderers

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Sam Dalby

The forward, who was a hero during Bolton's play-off run last season, picked up a hamstring injury in the build-up to the new campaign. He will not be fit enough to feature against Wednesday, leaving Schumacher without his only recognised out-and-out striker for the trip to Hillsborough.

Ethan Erhahon

The midfielder has featured for 45 minutes in pre-season but is currently viewed as behind captain Eoin Toal in the recovery stakes, with Schumacher confirming Erhahon is still working with the fitness coaches to manage a calf issue. Toal, who missed Bolton's play-off final through a hamstring problem, has stepped up his own recovery and featured in the club's final pre-season friendly.