Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney could be without a trio of players for their game against Barnsley on New Years Day.
The fresh injury concerns come after a huge morale-boosting win against Carlisle United on Friday, however the club did receive a couple of knocks in their victory. Prior to the game against the Cumbrians, Wigan had lost each of their last three and were falling ever closer to the relegation zone.
However that said win now moves the Latics six points clear of the relegation places and Shaun Maloney will be hoping that his players can build on that performance.
They do face a stiff task on New Year’s Day though, as they travel to Barnsley who are one of the form sides in the league currently. Neill Collins’ men are unbeaten in their last seven league games, picking up 15 points during that spell. Now sat in the play-off positions, the Tykes will be looking to mount a challenge for the automatic positions, with the top seven split by just eight points.
Wigan’s task has been made all the harder with the news that they could be without a further three players for their League One matchup, all whom picked up knocks in the victory against Carlisle.
Perhaps the most concerning, is the injury to forward Stephen Humphrys, who went off in the 51st minute after sustaining a knock to his hip.
Humphrys is not the only player who could be forced to sit the New Year’s Day game out, with both Sean Clare and Scott Smith who were also substituted, expected to have picked up head and calf injuries respectively.
As a result, Maloney has insisted that their will be changes, something that is expected given both the injury concerns as well as the congested fixture schedule. Speaking to Wigan Today ahead of the trip to Oakwell, the manager said:
“I think there’ll still be changes for Barnsley, there has to be.
“Firstly, we’ve got a few doubts…Stephen (Humphrys) came off with what looked to be a knock to his hip area. It’s always when you stop that these things become worse, and I knew at half-time that if he didn’t look great then he’d have to be changed quickly.
“Scotty Smith was struggling at the end as well – I had to put him almost left wing to protect him – and Sean Clare had a bang to the head.
“I’ve tried to rotate to retain a freshness – sometimes it’s worked and sometimes it hasn’t – but I thought the midfield benefitted from that against Carlisle.
“I really like what they can do, Barnsley…they can play if you give them time, but they’ll also get the ball forward quickly and test you constantly.
“It’s a big test for us, but let’s see what we have.”
Writer’s View
Off the back of a huge win on Friday this comes as a bit of a blow to Maloney’s side. It makes what is already a hard enough task away to Barnsley even tougher, and the home side will go into the game full of confidence knowing just that.
Maloney did however give little away regarding the extent of each of the players’ injury, so it is unknown whether any of the three will make the matchday squad. All three have shown their worth to the manager this season and he will be hoping that if they are out, it is not for a long spell.
Senior Editor
