What Ernie Weaver has said to Sheffield Wednesday fans after suffering serious setback | OneFootball

The young defender was recently ruled out with a long-term injury

Sheffield Wednesday prospect Ernie Weaver has addressed supporters for the first time since his major injury setback.

The Owls haven’t enjoyed much luck in 2025, a year that has been plagued by owner Dejphon Chansiri’s financial mismanagement.

Chansiri’s shortcomings have been well-documented at this point, after he failed to pay players on time for five of the last seven months.

This provided some operators with the opportunity to leave Hillsborough for free, an option that Michael Smith and Josh Windass took up.

The Thai businessman’s antics led to Wednesday being placed under five embargoes by the EFL, which heavily impacted how much business they could commence in the transfer market.

Loan moves for Harry Amass and Ethan Horvath were all the Steel City side could manage, firmly placing them on the back foot heading into this season.

This lack of transfer activity meant that manager Henrik Pedersen had to turn to a number of the Owls’ young prospects to make up the numbers, which provided a route into the squad for Weaver.

Ernie Weaver speaks out following injury setback

The young centre-back emerged as a first-team contender at the start of the 2025/26 campaign and impressed supporters with his mature performances.

Weaver’s talent was evident for all to see during the Owls’ short EFL Cup run, which saw them best the likes of Leeds United and Bolton Wanderers.

The 19-year-old made his first league start away at Portsmouth and coped brilliantly to help Wednesday secure a 2-0 victory. Weaver went on to start four consecutive matches, with the Owls unbeaten in three of those and was starting to look like an extremely important asset for Pedersen this term.

However, over the international break, it became apparent that an ankle injury Weaver had picked up required surgery, and it isn’t certain whether he will be able to feature again this season.

Taking to Instagram to reach out to Wednesday supporters, the young defender stated: “After playing through pain for quite some time it was necessary for me to have surgery. Absolutely gutted to be losing so much time in what was shaping up to be such a big season for me personally but I will be desperate to get back out there when the time is right. Grateful for another successful operation today.. be back soon.”

Ernie Weaver blow highlights Sheffield Wednesday’s pitiful situation

In normal circumstances, losing a young prospect to injury would be a blow, but their presence in the dressing room wouldn’t be too sorely missed due to other, more senior players being available.

That isn’t the case at Wednesday however, and Weaver’s absence means that they are now without one of their strongest defensive talents.

This situation highlights just how much trouble the Owls are in this season and how tough a task survival will be, even without any further punishments in the form of points penalties.

Weaver may have a big role to play in the Steel City side’s fortunes over the next few years, especially if they drop down to League One, but he will be forced to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of this season.