Video: What Sheffield Wednesday boss Jos Luhukay made of Fernando Forestieri's immediate impact against Preston North End

The mercurial forward has been out of the side since August as he underwent surgery on a knee ligament injury and the creative spark he brings to the side has certainly been something they could have been doing with in this troubled campaign.

On Thursday boss Jos Luhukay revealed that Forestieri would be back in the squad for the match against Preston and that in itself heightened the excitement among Owls fans.

He received a huge cheer when he came on before the match to warm-up, then again when trotting down the sideline during the game.

WATCH: How Sheffield Wednesday fans greeted Fernando Forestieri's return and then celebrated his goal

Then, the moment fans had been waiting for arrived when Forestieri came on to replace Barry Bannan in the 78th minute.

His impact was immediate, showing neat close control that has been a trademark of his time at Wednesday he was skipping around Preston players.

He also set up an opportunity for Lucas Joao to make it 3-1, with a one-two that eventually saw Joao denied by Declan Rudd in the Preston goal.

But after Atdhe Nuhiu had indeed made it 3-1 with a stunning goal, Forestieri was not to be outdone and it was almost fate when Wednesday were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area in the final minutes of injury time.

The Kop sang his name and they were rewarded with a curling effort which bent around the wall and into the goal to make it 4-1.

"Good players make a team better," said Luhukay. "In the time he played, you can give him the ball and he makes something happen. He set up what looked like an easy pass and created a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

"They are the moments you know he can do that. He was important for us to have more of the ball and create more chances."