A week that began with Tony Pulis bemoaning his lack of attacking options ended with two of those being ruled out for the foreseeable future.
Pulis’s Wednesday will be without Josh Windass for their next three matches and Jack Marriott for the next six-to-seven weeks, if he returns to Hillsborough at all.
That leaves just Jordan Rhodes, Callum Paterson and Elias Kachunga as the Welshman’s senior options at the top of the pitch – with only the former deemed as a specialist centre-forward, judging by the Owls boss’s comments last week.
But out of adversity comes opportunity, or so they say.
And, should that be the case, one of Wednesday’s forgotten summer signings could be a beneficiary.
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Korede Adedoyin joined the Owls having impressed on trial after his Everton deal expired, but has yet to make a first-team matchday squad.
His Hillsborough career has instead commenced in the Under-23s, where registration issues and a three-match suspension have hindered Adedoyin’s progress.
But it is already evident that, in the 20-year-old, Wednesday could have a talented young player on their hands.
As well as being quick, strong and close to six feet in height, Adedoyin boasts great balance, a skilful pair of feet and a prolific goalscoring record from his time in Everton’s youth set-up.
In many ways, he is not dissimilar in style to Lucas Joao, the Portuguese striker Wednesday sold to Reading last summer.
But the main – and perhaps most crucial – thing he lacks is first-team exposure, with a loan spell at Hamilton Academical last season doing less than hoped to address that.
That being said, Adedoyin has trained with the Wednesday seniors on several occasions this season.
And with the Owls U23s without a game until Monday, a place on Pulis’s bench – expanded, of course, from a capacity of seven to nine now – may not be out of reach should Adedoyin catch his manager’s eye this week.
