Sheffield Wednesday: Owls winger faces spell on the sidelines after leg op

The Senegalese international, signed on a free transfer from Marseille last summer, has had surgery on a leg injury this week.

Sougou, who has made 15 appearances in Wednesday colours, hitting three goals, has hinted on social networking site Twitter he will miss the rest of the season.

But speaking at his press briefing today, Carvalhal said: "Modou has had surgery so he needs time. It is better not to put a target on this sort of situation.

"We will see when he will recover.

"We want to be with all the players but these things can happen.

"Modou is a fantastic professional. He's a very good colleague. Everyone likes him and we wish him a speedy recovery as he's an important player in our squad."

For our Owls news and opinion on twitter follow here

Carvalhal will have to make one enforced change to his midfield when they welcome Charlton Athletic to Hillsborough tomorrow, with Barry Bannan starting his three-match suspension following his red card at Nottingham Forest last week. The Scotland international was given his marching orders following a late tackle on Eric Lichaj in the second half, ruling him out of their fixtures with Charlton, Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers.

Wednesday's claim of wrongful dismissal was rejected following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Tuesday.

Utility ace Sam Hutchinson is in pole position to return to midfield, having overcome illness.

Carvalhal has no new injuries to contend with ahead of their final match before the international break. Jack Hunt, Michael Turner and Marco Matias are pushing for first-team recalls.

"All the players are available apart from Modou," he added.

Fresh from being included in the latest England Under-21 squad, Joe Wildsmith could be named in the Owls' match-day squad after shaking a back problem.

For more news from Hillsborough click here

Follow Dom Howson on twitter