Sheffield Wednesday attacker Fernando Forestieri has sent a message on Instagram ahead of his potential return against Cardiff City on Friday. 

The 29-year-old has been missing for a large part of the season as he has been serving a six-match ban after he was judged to used racist language in an exchange with Mansfield Town defender Krystian Pearce last July.

Forestieri has now served his ban and, after scoring for the Wednesday U23s against Hull City U23s on Sunday, could appear for the Owls in their first Championship game after the international break against Cardiff on Friday.

The forward posted an image on Instagram of his first game back after the ban, accompanied with an emoji that could suggest he's hoping to return to duty for the first team on Friday.

/B3olvssl1pD/

Wednesday have had a positive start to Garry Monk's tenure and picked up 10 points from a possible 15 since he took over in September, climbing to eighth in the Championship.

The Owls are just one point outside the top six and only three behind league leaders West Bromwich Albion, meaning a win against Cardiff could see them go first if results elsewhere go their way.

The Verdict

It is certainly a boost for Wednesday to have Forestieri returning as the Yorkshire club have looked short of quality striking options other than Steven Fletcher.

Sam Winnall, Jordan Rhodes and Atdhe Nuhiu have scored just two goals between them, so it will be interesting to see whether Monk looks to use Forestieri as back up for the Scottish striker.

The 29-year-old scored 27 goals and contributed 14 assists across his first two seasons at Hillsborough and if he can rediscover that sort of form he could be a real asset for the Owls in the 2019/20 campaign.

[freshpress-poll ]