Sheffield Wednesday: Birthday boy Gary Hooper is a man on a mission

Fit-again striker Gary Hooper hopes to finish as the Owls' leading goalscorer this season.
Gary HooperGary Hooper
Gary Hooper

Hooper, an unused substitute against Brighton and Hove Albion, is third in Wednesday’s scoring charts behind Steven Fletcher and Fernando Forestieri with five Championship goals.

Forestieri, who missed a second half penalty at the Amex Stadium, leads the way with seven.

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With Fletcher facing a three-match suspension following his dismissal versus the Seagulls, Hooper could make his long-awaited Owls comeback at Bristol City next Tuesday.

The former Celtic centre forward, who turns 29 today, will be vying with Sam Winnall to partner Forestieri in attack.

Hooper, who spent nearly two months on the sidelines recovering from a hamstring injury, told The Star: “I think any striker wants to be top-scorer and I’m not far away from Fletch and Nando. My aim is to get my sharpness back and help the team by scoring some goals.”

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Boss Carlos Carvalhal is spoilt for choice up front. He has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal, including Forestieri, Hooper, Winnall, Fletcher, Atdhe Nuhiu and Lucas Joao. Portugal international Joao is currently receiving treatment after picking up an injury in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Doncaster Rovers earlier this week.

Despite having six senior forwards, Wednesday continue to be heavily linked with strikers and are reportedly eyeing up Aston Villa’s Ross McCormack and Bristol Rovers’ Matt Taylor.