Pierce Charles is scheduled for a scan after being forced off during Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Brentford.

The 20-year-old made a number of outstanding saves against the Bees, adding to his already impressive record.

However, he suffered a shoulder injury and was replaced by academy product Logan Stretch.

Charles suffered yet another injury, having missed many games earlier in the season due to a separate shoulder condition.

Pierce Charles updates

Pedersen explained: “It’s the opposite shoulder from the prior injury, and he’s in a lot of agony. We’ll find out more after tomorrow’s scan.

“It’s terrible for him because he’s so vital to our style of play, both defensively and offensively.

“How he’s played since his return is outstanding. It’s very unfortunate if another injury keeps him out for weeks or longer. I genuinely wish him the best.

The priority is to determine the extent of Pierce’s injuries, and then we will proceed from there.”

Pedersen altered his team for the visit of the Bees to manage some fatigued senior players.

He explained, “We intended to play the strongest team, but we couldn’t due to health concerns.

“I couldn’t put Barry [Bannan] in because we had just had a frantic Christmas programme and the risk of Barry getting injured was too great, as was the risk of Liam Palmer getting hurt.

“Jamal [Lowe] has played a lot of minutes. He’s fatigued, and there’s too much risk; we’re currently in a dark red zone.

“The boys are at their maximum, and we are doing our best to control this. They need to relax again. I would have like to play with senior guys today, but the risk was too high.

“It was a learning game for a lot of players today and it’s a big experience we can use for the next step of the individual development.”