Semedo can play centre half for us says Sheffield Wednesday boss Carvalhal

Semedo, regarded primarily as a combative midfielder, slotted into that position in Sunday’s emphatic win over CD Nacional in the Algarve after Sam Hutchinson was forced off with an injury.

Due to Wednesday’s centre-half shortage, Semedo, who penned a new one-year contract this summer, played there again in last night’s training exercise with Portimonense.

Carvalhal told The Star: “We are training Jose in the position. He is doing well.

“Jose can play different positions. He’s a player that can play at right-back, centre-back or in central midfield.

“He’s a team player. We trust him 100 per cent. If we need him to play at centre-half, he can do a job there.”

Strengthening his backline is one of Carvalhal’s top objectives as the new campaign looms ever closer.

With captain Glenn Loovens unlikely to return to first-team duty until September, Wednesday are short of cover at the heart of the defence.

Carvalhal admitted: “We don’t have too many options but it is normal that you get a few injuries.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, Jack Hunt and Hutchinson also sustained hamstring and quad injuries respectively versus Nacional.

While they might be light on numbers, Carvalhal is encouraged by the team’s attacking play. In their last three friendlies, Wednesday have scored seven times.

“Three of those strikes have come from Fernando Forestieri.

“We are scoring a lot of goals,” he acknowledged. “We are in a good way but I have my feet on the floor. There is still a lot of work to do.”