Scharner in battle to be fit to face Clarets
Paul Scharner is confident of being fit for the trip to Burnley despite aggravating a hip problem against Manchester City.
The Austrian picked up the right-sided injury in the final
training session of last week, but felt okay on the day of the game and was passed fit to play against the Eastlands outfit.
Scharner battled through for 70 minutes of the 1-1 draw before giving way to Jordi Gomez, just as he had in the previous game at Hull.
The 29-year-old will be assessed by the Latics medical team, but does not feel the problem is serious enough to prevent him making the short trip to Turf Moor.
Scharner said: "I picked up the injury the day before the game, but it felt comfortable during the warm-up.
"But during the game it tightened up again, and in the end I couldn't
continue.
"We'll assess the injury, but hopefully I'll be okay for Saturday. I think I will be fine."
Boss Roberto Martinez believes the problem is linked to the player's
recent hectic schedule, which included back-to-back games for his country during the international break.
He said: "We'll assess him over the next 24 hours, and we're hoping it is only swelling.
"Obviously he's played three games in the space of week, and sometimes this is the kind of effect you get from travelling and playing international football.
"Hopefully, there'll be some positive news for us."
Martinez is less confident of good news concerning keeper Chris Kirkland, who suffered a nasty looking finger injury during Sunday's televised clash against City.
Despite manfully seeing out the 90 minutes, Kirkland is fearing the worst after his DIY attempts to put the joint back in place were not successful.
Martinez added: "We'll be having all the scans and all the tests possible to find out the extent of the injury.
"At the moment we feel it might only be a dislocated finger.
"But we need to see exactly what the situation is and we'll find out more over the next 24 hours."
While he faces an uncertain wait regarding his injury, Kirkland is more certain about the fact Latics have a difficult task in front of them at
Burnley this weekend.
The Clarets boast a 100% home record so far this term, including a
famous victory over Manchester United, and the Turf Moor faithful are widely regarded as being among the most partisan in the top flight.
Kirkland said: "Every game is equally hard, and it'll be another test for us at Burnley. But we'll prepare like we always do and we'll be ready for the challenge."
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Weather for Wigan
Thursday 02 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South east
