Sheffield Wednesday: Lee Gregory's extended absence explained as three men in contention for Charlton Athletic clash

Wednesday boss Darren Moore confirmed his top scorer would miss out on this weekend’s visit of Charlton Athletic through a toe injury picked up in defeat at Oxford United last month.

It was initially hoped that Gregory would be back in contention a couple of weeks back, but Moore confirmed a setback with the injury means the wait continues. The club will take a safety-first approach to his comeback ahead of what could be a nip-and-tuck end to the season.

“He had a little bit of a setback,” Moore told The Star. “Greggers being Greggers just wanted to get out and play.

“But we’ve overcome that now and we’re in a stage where we’re trying a little bit more each day, we’ve done the same today and will do the same over the weekend.

“Provided he gets no reaction from it each and every day we’ll keep on. He’s just at that stage. He’s nearly there, but this is the most crucial part.

“He’s come this far, so if it’s a case of him just taking a few more days then we’ll take them.”

Moore was able to impart positive news on the Owls defence in a week that saw former player of the year Dominic Iorfa return to a football pitch for the first time in over four months.

Sam Hutchinson, one of the club’s most in-form players before he picked up a knock, is back in contention for involvement this weekend, as is Lewis Gibson, who offered a star turn from the bench in last weekend’s win at Doncaster Rovers.

Moore said: “In terms of this weekend, Sam Hutchinson has trained, Lewis Gibson has had another week and Dominic Iorfa has come through an under-23s game, which is great.

“Chey Dunkley is back on the training ground with the players and next week we’ll one or two out on the training ground jogging and running.

“As the weeks go by bodies are progressing and they’ll be phased back into the first team.”