Sheffield Wednesday were given a lifeline in the form of two free agency acquisitions, but injury has turned one of them a bit of a waste that the club can’t afford just now.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen must wonder what he needs to do to get a respite. His team was on the verge of scoring their second win of the season on Tuesday night at Watford, only for Vivaldo Semedo to equalize in the 97th minute, keeping the Owls 28 points from safety at the bottom of the Championship table.
However, while much of the club’s problems have been caused by the mismanagement of soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri, there have also been times when plain bad luck has hampered their chances, as seen in the case of Nathan Redmond, one of the emergency signings that the club were allowed to make but who has already joined the Owls’ injury list.
Nathan Redmond’s injury will keep him out for the rest of December.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Pedersen stated following his team’s draw against Watford that winger Redmond will be sidelined for the rest of December due to a groin ailment.
Redmond made his Wednesday debut with eleven minutes remaining in their 3-2 defeat to Preston North End at Hillsborough, and he was on the bench for the club’s abandoned match against Blackburn Rovers the previous weekend.
Pedersen has now stated that the player complained of a groin ailment the day after the Blackburn game. Prior to the Watford match, the manager stated that he expected him to return shortly, but this has since changed, and Redmond will now be absent for the duration of the month.
Nathan Redmond’s injury signals the end of a dismal year for both the player and his new team.
Nathan Redmond’s departure is an especially bitter blow for Pedersen, given that the player was one of two emergency free agency signings permitted by the EFL only a few weeks ago. Redmond was the second of these acquisitions, following former Leeds United defender Liam Cooper, who joined the club only two weeks ago.
Sheffield Wednesday has faced major personnel challenges as a result of summer transfer restrictions imposed in response to the club’s failure to pay player and staff wages earlier this year. On transfer deadline day, they were only able to sign defender Harry Amass from Manchester United when United promised to pay his entire salary.
Even so, this was hardly their first injury crisis of the season. Two weeks before the transfer window closed, the club had to seek special permission to bring in an emergency goalkeeper after Pierce Charles hurt his shoulder, with Ethan Horvath joining on loan from Cardiff City.
After the club went into administration on October 24th, and injuries to a dwindling roster mounted again, the management requested permission to bring in new players, resulting in the entrance of Cooper and Redmond.
This injury setback is also disastrous for Redmond himself. Redmond, who has one appearance for the England national side, only appeared twice for Burnley last season and has been without a club since they released him in the summer.
For Redmond, this was an opportunity to reestablish himself after a difficult couple of years.
For Sheffield Wednesday and Pedersen, however, these two loan signings represented an opportunity to enhance their team. This latest loss is a cruelly appropriate cap to a year they would rather forget.
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