Injury latest on Sheffield Wednesday defender who made promising start after Aston Villa move
Owls injury round-up...
Sil Swinkels is making progress on his return from injury.
The summer signing from Aston Villa made an encouraging start to his Owls career before picking up a hamstring problem in the Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves last month. The defender was due to play the full 90 minutes but was forced off with 20 to go.
The Dutch centre-back, 22, had started three of the first four games of the season but he has now missed the last four. Thankfully, fellow left-sided centre-half Liam Cooper has since returned, playing 90 minutes for the first time this campaign against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Although Cooper has been excellent, winning the man of the match award in the goalless draw against Wigan, Wednesday will be keen for Swinkels to recover quickly to provide competition and cover.
Speaking about Swinkels before the Wigan match, Owls boss Henrik Pedersen said: “It is going really well with him. I saw him on the pitch today where he trained and was running. It is really good. Next week he has some more tests and then hopefully he can take the next step.”
Regarding other injuries, Yan Valery (knee) had to come off on Saturday just after the hour-mark. Pedersen was unsure about the extent of his potential problem immediately after the fixture. But there was less concern about Ricardo Santos, who was taken off with cramp with 20 minutes remaining.
Meanwhile, Max Lowe (hamstring) and Jordi Liongola (hamstring) remain out. Pedersen has remained coy on Lowe’s lay-off, while Liongola is still three to four weeks away from returning. But there was some good news on Sunday as Di’Shon Bernard made his first appearance since February 2025 after a long-term injury and setbacks along the way, playing 45 minutes for the under-21s against Charlton Athletic at Hillsborough, which finished 2-2. Louie Barry (three months, ankle) and Tyler Onyango (knee, season-ending) are at the opposite end of the timescale.
The Owls welcome Stockport County to Hillsborough this Saturday in their next league game.