Sheffield Wednesday’s Michael Smith set for injury return as arrival of Mallik Wilks sends ominous warning to League One rivals

The fact that their two recognised senior centre forwards in Michael Smith and Lee Gregory – who hit a combined total of 34 goals in League One last season – have yet to register, while new arrival Mallik Wilks is also still to make his mark, should serve as an ominous warning to others.

Three brilliant long-range strikes in the first half from Jaden Brown, his first goal for the club, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Dennis Adeniran provided the talking point in their Carabao Cup saunter against Rochdale.

The news afterwards that Smith – whose competitive game-time for the Owls has amounted to just under 20 minutes so far – is in the final part of his rehabilitation from a nagging thigh issue and is close to a return to contention was a further reason for Wednesday to feel chirper.

The sight of the talismanic ex-Rotherham United striker on the training pitch at Middlewood today will further fortify spirits.

Manager Darren Moore said: “He will be back in training with us on Thursday. He’s completed his time with the sports science people and will be back with us.

“What we need him to do now is to start completing volume with the boys.

“When he’s back in training, he starts reacting to things he can’t control. If we feel happy with that, then we’ll be happy to go forward with it.

“He’s been on the grass, but now he will be back in with the group. The pleasing thing with that is that you cannot tie him into movements when there’s a ball.

“Those are the things that we need. He’ll get some work done and we will see where he’s at.

“Depending on how he feels and what symptoms he has from it, we’ll see how the games come and when he might be involved.”

Specifically on his injury issue, Moore – whose side welcome Forest Green on Saturday – continued: “He picked it up at the back end of last season and didn’t think anything of it.

“It was in his thigh, just sat in the ‘belly’ of his thigh. It was a little pocket of fluid.

“When he joined, we thought over the course of the summer a rest would do it, but it never moved.

“He could play on with, but it was holding him back a bit, so we took him out of it to get him right. He’s at the final part with it now.”

While Smith’s prowess at third-tier level does not have to be spelt out, the same can be said of Wilks, now in situ at his fifth White Rose club in Wednesday.

Wilks’s move from East to South Yorkshire ended a bit of a summer saga in truth.

At 23, the Leeds-born player is now at his eighth professional club in total and Moore is wise to the notion that he is at the point in his career where he needs to find a lasting and happy home.

Moore commented: “I am really pleased to get him. I have said to him, let’s make S6 a home for him here.

“He is so excited and pleased to be here and we are happy to have him and are really looking forward to getting him settled down and playing in front of the passionate support base.

“Him getting on the front foot and hopefully scoring and creating chances will mean goals for us.

“He is not a kid anymore and has reached a level and age now where he needs to be playing (regular) football.

“He brings a wonderful excitement to the game.

“Mallik is a flair player. He brings us another attacking dimension, which is what we want, when we come to team shape and formation.”

Wilks’s acquisition from Hull City was the Owls’ tenth of the close season, but it might not be quite the end of the club’s summer business yet.

Moore, who also recently brought in Cardiff City defender Mark McGuinness, is not ruling out further inward transfer window activity in the final week of the window as the Owls seek to cover all their bases in 2022-23.

Bringing in another goalkeeping option to back up David Stockdale and Cameron Dawson is one potential recruitment area.

Moore said: “You can never say never on both fronts (ins and outs).

“We’re in a position where we did our work really early and as we’ve been going along, it’s been great to be able to pick up acquisitions we have. But that’s all testament to the work we’d done early.

“For us to be in this position with the window still open for a week or so, looking at the balance of the squad and how much better it looks now, we’re in a good position.

“In terms of signing anything permanent or anything on loan, on both fronts, something would have to become available I feel would have to be of benefit to us going forward.

“We will wait and see. If not, we’ll let the window shut and get on with what we need to get on with.”

On bringing in another keeper potentially, he added: “It’s a possibility. That’s an area we may look at because with Stocky and Daws, there is just the two of them.

“If anything happens to one or two of them, we’re still short. That’s maybe a market where we’re looking in terms of a place to strengthen.”