Pre-season is well underway and following comfortable wins over Stockport and Scunthorpe so far, the Owls raise the bar on Tuesday with a friendly clash against Portugese top tier side Braga.
And centre back Anthony Gardner is more well versed than most of his team mates when it comes to assessing the challenge Braga will represent.
He told swfc.co.uk: “I played against them a few years ago with Spurs in the UEFA Cup and they played a style that I’m sure will be similar to how they play today.
“Braga will try to hold a lot of possession, they will try to keep the ball and press at the same time so this will be a tough game for us.
“A lot of European teams play the same way and we know that Braga are a good side because they did very well in their division last year, almost qualifying for the Champions League for what would have been the second successive season.”
On a personal note, Gardener is keen to pull on the boots on and get some more important game time under the belt.
While pre-season training is wholly conducive to topping the fitness levels, the erstwhile England international says there is no substitute for matches:
“We have two games coming up this week and although they are friendlies, they are still very important.
“It’s good to be back out there on the training field after the summer break but there is nothing like games to get back into the swing of things.
“We will get some good fitness out of the game in the heat but the season is not far away and we need to get tuned in mentally and tactically.”
* Braga v Sheffield Wednesday kicks off at 8.00pm at the Estádio Municipal de Albufeira on Tuesday 16 July.
Tickets are available in person at the ground on the day or on the turnstile ahead of the friendly encounter.
Entrance is ten Euros.