Fresh Sheffield Wednesday injury update issued - it could end Middlesbrough agreement | OneFootball

Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen is due some good news, and it could mean the end of a Middlesbrough loanee Seny Dieng's time at Hillsborough.

Henrik Pedersen has received a boost with the news that goalkeeper Pierce Charles could be back from injury sooner than anticipated.

For Sheffield Wednesday, mathematical relegation hasn't eased a run of bad results. Wednesday were beaten 3-1 on Saturday at Hillsborough by Southampton, their 12th defeat in a row and their 29th since their only Championship win of the season, at Portsmouth in September.

Wednesday were formally relegated from the Championship after losing 2-1 to Sheffield United in the Steel City Derby, and followed that up with another defeat in midweek, this time at Norwich City. The Portsmouth win still represents their only Championship win of the season so far, meaning that they haven't won a single home league match yet.

They are on course to set a Championship record low points tally for a season, and could yet become the first in the 138-year history of the League to end one with a negative points tally.

On top of all that, the collapse of a takeover bid fronted by professional gambler James Bord has set them back to square one on that front, with it now looking likely that they'll have to start next season on League One on -15 points.

But Wednesday have had one bit of good news, with reports that the club could be set to welcome back their highly rated young goalkeeper Pierce Charles back to their first team following injury, and possibly as quickly as a couple of games’ time.

Pierce Charles closing in on Sheffield Wednesday return

According to reporting from the Sheffield Star, manager Henrik Pedersen is set to receive boost of getting his first-choice goalkeeper back ahead of schedule. They report that the Northern Ireland international may return within the club's next two matches, which is Derby County away weekend, followed by a home clash with Watford on March 10.

Charles has been absent from the Sheffield Wednesday team since picking up a shoulder injury during their FA Cup match against Brentford at the start of January, and when mid-season loanee Murphy Cooper also suffered an injury, Seny Dieng was brought in on an emergency loan from Middlesbrough - a deal which lasts seven days and can be renewed with EFL approval for the same amount of time.

Once Charles is fit though, it will end Wednesday's eligibility to have Dieng as a registered player, meaning he will go back to Middlesbrough and sit on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

Although Wednesday have nothing left to play for this season, with the club's ownership position up in the air, the manager is still playing his job.

The Owls have had a record-breakingly bad time of things this season, but Pedersen can at least point to the savage effects of the transfer embargoes in place as a result of this. If he can impress a prospective new owner, he'll boost his chances of hanging onto his job, post-takeover.

Sheffield Wednesday's goalkeeping crises have summed up their season

Sheffield Wednesday's disastrous season is perhaps best encapsulated by the fact that they've used five different goalkeepers in the Championship already this season. Pierce Charles is a highly-rated young goalkeeper, already a Northern Ireland international, but he's been injured for much of the season and has only played for them nine times in the league.

As well as Charles, Murphy Cooper has made two league appearances for them, Joe Lumley made two on loan earlier in the season, Ethan Horvath played for them 14 times in the league on loan from Cardiff City, and the latest incumbent, Seny Dieng has made three. Dieng signed from Middlesbrough on loan when Cooper got injured, but the fact he's only on an emergency loan means he can stay only until one of the club's senior keepers is fit.

Such instability at the back has not helped Sheffield Wednesday's ultimately fruitless pursuit of Championship safety this season. The 71 goals that they've conceded in their 35 games is the most in the division by a long way, although the fact that they've had to use so many different goalkeepers sums up the fact that they've had a degree of bad luck on top of problems caused by their financial position.