Sheffield Wednesday boss delighted with return as huge period looms for Owls fan favourite

When Adeniran was handed a spot in Darren Moore’s XI against Fleetwood Town it had been almost a year since his last league start, it was an opportunity that he’d waited so long for, and massively deserved after his second half performance versus Premier League outfit, Newcastle United.

Darren Moore has been eager to ease him back in after he return to injury late last year, and he was restricted to cameo appearances against Port Vale and Cambridge United, but in his 86 minutes on the field in the 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town he showed the sort of energy that makes Moore such a big fan.

With his contract up at the end of the season, it's a huge few months for Adeniran – and he’ll be itching to knuckle down and do his bit to secure a top two finish come May.

His manager, who has played a huge role in keeping his head up over the last 12 months, says that he was delighted to see him doing his thing again at S6 over the weekend – but did admit that they need to be careful with him as they ease him back into things in 2023.

“I’m so pleased for him,” Moore told The Star after his Hillsborough return. “Because he’s been so frustrated to want to start earlier - but we’ve had to manage him. In terms of the injury that he’s had, we might have to still keep managing him in games to get him to the level where he can play consistent football. So we’ll see how he is for Tuesday.

“But for him to come back today, and play in that sort of game and help get the three points - it shows a a level of understanding in the group. If you’re coming in, you know what’s expected of you.

“What I said to Dennis was that you’d rather come into a game when the team is showing this kind of confidence, as opposed to the other way around. He certainly added to that, and I’m really pleased for him.”

With Moore’s comments in mind, the postponement of the game against Cheltenham Town may be a bit of a blessing, with Moore no doubt considering the risk of starting him twice in quick succession, and you’d think it’d free him up to potentially get another start when Fleetwood Town return to S6 in the FA Cup this coming weekend.

Adeniran has got four goals and assists in cup competitions this season so far, one in the FA Cup and three in the Carabao Cup, and he’ll be desperate to add to that tally against the Cod Army in a few days’ time if given the opportunity.

Wednesday’s postponement against Cheltenham, meanwhile, means that they’ll have to wait to face Plymouth Argyle themselves for their chance to leapfrog them and go top of the table.

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