Henrik Pedersen has received a boost with the news that goalkeeper Pierce Charles may return from injury sooner than expected.

Sheffield Wednesday’s mathematical relegation has not alleviated a poor run of results. Wednesday were defeated 3-1 by Southampton at Hillsborough on Saturday, their 12th defeat in a row and 29th since their only Championship win of the season, against Portsmouth in September.

Wednesday were officially demoted from the Championship after losing 2-1 to Sheffield United in the Steel City Derby, which was followed by another defeat in midweek, this time against Norwich City. Portsmouth’s victory remains their only Championship win of the season, meaning they have yet to win a single home league match.

They are on track to create a Championship record for lowest points tally in a season and could become the first in the League’s 138-year history to finish with a negative points score.

On top of that, the collapse of a takeover offer led by professional gambler James Bord has thrown them back to square one, with it now appearing likely that they will begin the upcoming season in League One with -15 points.

But Wednesday has one piece of good news: sources suggest that the club may be able to reintroduce their highly rated rookie goalkeeper Pierce Charles to the first squad after an injury, possibly as soon as a couple of games.

Pierce Charles is edging in on his comeback to Sheffield Wednesday.

According to the Sheffield Star, manager Henrik Pedersen is expected to benefit from his first-choice goalkeeper’s early return. According to reports, the Northern Ireland international might return in the club’s next two games, which are an away weekend against Derby County and a home fixture against Watford on March 10.

Charles has been out of the Sheffield Wednesday squad since suffering a shoulder injury in an FA Cup match against Brentford in early January, and when mid-season loanee Murphy Cooper was also injured, Seny Dieng was brought in on an emergency loan from Middlesbrough – a deal that lasts seven days and can be extended with EFL approval for the same amount of time.

However, once Charles is fit, Wednesday’s ability to have Dieng as a registered player would expire, and he will return to Middlesbrough and sit out the rest of the season.

Despite the fact that Wednesday have nothing to play for this season and the club’s ownership situation is uncertain, the manager is continuing to do his job.

The Owls have had a historically terrible season, but Pedersen can at least point to the devastating impact of the transfer embargoes imposed as a result. If he can impress a prospective new owner, he will increase his chances of keeping his job after the takeover.

Sheffield Wednesday’s goalkeeping crises have summed up the season.

Sheffield Wednesday’s terrible season is possibly best summed up by the fact that they have employed five different goalkeepers in the Championship so far this season. Pierce Charles is a highly regarded teenage goalkeeper who has already represented Northern Ireland, although he has been injured for much of the season and has only appeared nine times in the league.

In addition to Charles, Murphy Cooper has two league appearances for them, Joe Lumley has two on loan earlier this season, Ethan Horvath has 14 league appearances on loan from Cardiff City, and Seny Dieng has three. When Cooper was injured, Dieng signed on loan from Middlesbrough; however, because he is only on an emergency loan, he can only stay until one of the club’s senior keepers is fit.

Such insecurity at the back has hampered Sheffield Wednesday’s ultimately futile pursuit of Championship safety this season. The 71 goals conceded in their 35 games are by far the most in the division, but the fact that they’ve had to deploy so many different goalkeepers demonstrates that they’ve had some terrible luck on top of financial troubles.

It may not be enough to preserve Henrik Pedersen’s job once the takeover is completed, but Sheffield Wednesday would benefit from having Pierce Charles back for the balance of the season.