SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY’S crisis has hit a new low as they have no fit goalkeepers for their next match.
No1 Ethan Horvath was sent off late on in a 2-1 defeat at Charlton on Saturday.
Defender Liam Palmer was forced to don the gloves for the final few moments after Horvath clattered into Isaac Olaofe and saw red.
The keeper will now sit out the next three matches suspended, with No2 Pierce Charles also absent due to injury.
That means Wednesday will have to call upon 18-year-old shot-stopper Logan Stretch, who has never made a senior appearance.
The youngster has played just 90 minutes so far this season – for the Under-18s side in the FA Cup.
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The Owls’ crisis was summed up by Palmer having to wear Stretch’s shirt when he replaced Horvath between the sticks.
Stretch is set to make his debut on Wednesday against second-placed Middlesbrough, who have lost just one league game this season.
Wednesday are bottom of the Championship without a win in four matches.
They have won just once in the league this season, against Portsmouth, following a chaotic summer in which manager Danny Rohl resigned after owner Dejphon Chansiri failed to pay players and staff.
The club is reportedly set to be served a winding-up petition over debts of £1million.
Wednesday are already under a transfer embargo after failing to pay their players on time in five of the last seven months.
The club’s first late payment came in March, before being repeated in May – leading to the EFL‘s sanctions in June.
Chansiri has come under huge pressure to sell the club from former players and even politicians amid increasing concern about Wednesday’s future.
And that pressure will only rise after BBC Sport reported that a winding-up order was “imminent” over the £1m owed to HMRC.
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