Sheffield Wednesday boss spells out stance on transfer clamour for former Chelsea and Fulham man – drops huge update on Dominic Iorfa

The Owls have been light on the ground in defence since injuries to Akin Famewo, Ben Heneghan and Michael Ihiekwe overlapped. Heneghan has had knee surgery and could miss the rest of the campaign, while Ihiekwe is expected to be making strides towards recovery sometime in January.

Famewo has played less than half an hour of football for Wednesday having signed in the summer from Norwich City but is fit again and back in contention having come through a managed return in the Owls under-23 programme.

And there’s great news on the potential return of Dominic Iorfa, who after assessment this week is set for an early return after concerns within the club he could be facing an extended spell on the sidelines.

Owls boss Darren Moore told The Star: “It is a potential area we will look at but we’re pleased to have Akin Famewo back. He’s ready and waiting. We’re pleased that Dominic Iorfa won’t be too far back, he should be back within the next seven days. We’ve still got adequate cover there.

“The way those three are going at the back with those three; McGuinness, Palmer, James, they’ve been absolutely exceptional.

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“Defence is a possible area we’ll look to but we’re assessing our possible options with those two on the way back.”

One man they will not be pursuing is Wednesday’s 2018/19 player of the season Michael Hector.

The fan favourite centre-half has been without a club since the summer and has failed to nail down a further contract after trials with Championship sides Reading and Luton Town.

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Given the Owls’ injury woe in defence in recent weeks, fans have speculated online as to the possibility of bringing the Jamaican international back to the club where he played 39 times on loan from Chelsea.

“We’ve not considered any [free agent] defenders,” Moore said. “I know he [Hector] is someone that has been linked with the club but we’ve not considered anything because we wanted to wait and see what was going to happen with our injured players.”