Most of Taylor's action this term has come on the left side of midfield as Melchiot has been an almost permanent fixture in defence.

But the Holland inter-national is likely to be sidelined for the games against Aston Villa and Manchester United after damaging his groin against Reading.

And a couple of impressive displays in defence could help Taylor earn a contract extension at the JJB Stadium.

He has only got a year to go on his current deal and it was reported at the weekend that the 23-year-old was attracting the interest of Derby – it was Rams boss Paul Jewell who signed him for Latics in 2005.

Whether Taylor would want to drop down to the Championship is another matter, and it's unlikely Steve Bruce would want to lose his versatility as the Wigan boss has regularly used him since taking over.

His 12 starts and nine appearances from the bench have mainly seen him used on the left side of midfield.

Against Reading, he replaced Melchiot inside the first half-hour and looks likely to continue at right-back at Villa Park on Saturday – an occasion when Latics hope to banish any lingering relegation fears.

It will only be the sixth league game missed by the skipper this term.
Injury kept him out against Portsmouth and Arsenal earlier in campaign, while he picked up a three-match suspension for a red card in Bruce's first game against Manchester City.

Emmerson Boyce replaced Melchiot for those matches, but he has since become a regular in central defence alongside Paul Scharner.

While Melchiot – one of the favourites to win the club's Player of the Year award next week – faces an early finish to the domestic campaign, the injury is unlikely to affect his chances of being in Holland's squad for Euro 2008. He has got nearly a month to recover before the squad lists have to be submitted.

Melchiot is the club's last hope of featuring at Euro 2008, as Erik Edman will miss out for Sweden as he recovers from knee surgery, while Scharner has been overlooked by Austria.

Bruce has no other fitness worries for the visit to Villa – he expects Emile Heskey and Marcus Bent to shake off knocks picked up against Reading.

Both strikers were substituted during the second half but returned to training yesterday relatively unscathed.

If Bruce does fancy freshening things up in attack, he will have been encouraged by Marlon King's lively cameo after replacing Heskey.

Latics will be backed by more than 1,200 fans against Villa after selling out their ticket allocation.

And the sold-out signs have also gone up for the visit of Manchester United to the JJB a week on Sunday, a game which could decide the destiny of the league title.