Had things been different, it’s no leap to suggest Bruno Fernandes would have still been some way off making his Championship debut for Sheffield Wednesday.
The Portuguese-born youngster has long since been a name to keep an eye on in the youth ranks at Middlewood Road, his penchant for eye-catching goals one of many attributes that have had those behind the scenes excited about his potential.
But like many of his fresh-of-face comrades newly anointed to the senior set-up at S6, the decimation of the first team squad has seen him thrown into match contention. A sparkling debut in the Carabao Cup shootout win at Bolton Wanderers only served to heighten that excitement before a shocking tackle from Trotters skipper Chris Forino-Joseph forced him off with what was initially suspected to be a broken leg.
An overnight stay in the hospital recovered more promising news and after surgery to close up a nasty wound, Fernandes is now back. A cameo of a few minutes off the bench at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday welcomed a new step up the ladder in the form of a first EFL appearance for the 19-year-old.
“Bruno is a fantastic boy, a hard working boy and he is a running boy, he can run a lot,” his manager Henrik Pedersen told The Star. “It is hard to come in at 0-0 in a Championship game, but I was happy to see how hard he works and how he handles this situation.
“He has good quality on the ball and a fantastic deep run, really fantastic. He is a real runner. He is a good pressing player, with the running he has to be better with the tactical things for the team and he also has to be better tactically when he goes into one v one situations, how he attacks to one side, how he takes the last step and getting the right angle for the pressing. He is a young guy and what is most important is he has a big heart, big discipline and a really good mentality. I am happy for him.”
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