Who Sheffield Wednesday loanee Connor Wickham is happy to be reunited with at Hillsborough

The forwards know each other well, having played together at Sunderland.

With Fletcher still on the comeback trail from a knee injury suffered at Brighton and Hove Albion, Wickham spearheaded the Owls' attack in their draw at Barnsley last weekend.

Wickham, embarking on his third loan spell of his career with Wednesday, said: "I've known Fletch for a number of years now - we were at Sunderland together.

"We’ve kind of stayed in contract since we left.

"We’re good friends so I don’t want to say I’m a direct replacement for Fletch.

"We’ve got a great relationship on the pitch and off the pitch so we’ll see what the manager’s ideas are when Fletch is back.

"If we can get on the pitch at the same time then hopefully we can recreate the partnership we had at Sunderland."

It was initially feared Scotland international Fletcher, whose present contract runs out this summer, would be sidelined until April after his Brighton setback.

But Fletcher is progressing well with his rehab and on course to return to action next month.

“He is doing really well in his rehabilitation,” said boss Garry Monk. "We can’t put a specific date on it but we have been told, speaking with the medical department, around the start of March.

“Whether that be the first or second week, it’s a lot brighter than we originally thought. Hopefully he’ll come back and play a part this season.”