Sheffield Wednesday can cope without injured Fernando Forestieri, insists Owls midfielderÂ

As exclusively revealed by The Star last week, Forestieri is unlikely to be available for selection until the end of January because of a hamstring injury.

Three-goal Forestieri tore his hamstring in the latter stages of Wednesday's loss away to Blackburn Rovers earlier this month.

With Jordan Rhodes loaned to Norwich City and Forestieri, Sam Winnall and Gary Hooper all ruled out by injury, under-fire Owls boss Jos Luhukay is not spoilt for choice in attack. It leaves just Lucas Joao, who has bagged three goals in his last two outings, Atdhe Nuhiu and Steven Fletcher as Luhukay's striking options.

"Fernando is a really good player and an important player for us," Pelupessy told The Star. "If we play a really bad game, he can score out of nothing.

"Sometimes you need these players in your team.

"I'm happy that we have a lot of good strikers who are fit which is a good thing. Hopefully Fernando will be back soon but we have a really strong team.

"We have a lot of attackers and I have a lot of trust in them. Hopefully they are going to score a little more in the next few weeks."

Meanwhile, Wednesday youngster Conor Grant has penned his maiden professional contract. The Irish midfielder, who moved to Hillsborough following a successful trail in the 2016/17 season, has played a big part in the Owls' Under-18s topping the Professional Development league table.

"I am delighted," said Grant. "It is a dream come true.

'I'm really happy that the hard work has paid off.'