Injury KO for Wigan Athletic pair

Wigan Athletic could be without senior duo Lee Evans and Gavin Massey until March due to their ongoing injury problems.
Gavin MasseyGavin Massey
Gavin Massey

The pair are by far Latics’ most experienced outfield players, with Tom Pearce the next most ‘senior’ man – at 22.

Massey, 28, hasn’t been seen since the 0-0 home draw against Bristol Rovers on November 24 after damaging a calf.

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Evans, 26, last played in the 1-0 win at Sunderland on December 5 – his only outing since October 24 – because of knee trouble.

And acting manager Leam Richardson delivered a gloomy update on the prospect of either joining the survival bid in the near-future.

“It’s been very frustrating for us,” acknowledged Richardson. “The lads are champing at the bit to try and help.

“But they’re still a good four, five, six weeks away from being able to do that.

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“Gavin will go off to St George’s Park for a week to try to progress even faster and improve his strength.

“As with every other department at the club, our medical department is doing its best, but they’re down to the bare bones.

“The lads are continuing to work as hard as they can every day, and dying to get out there as soon as they can.

“We’re just trying to function as best we can as a club.”

The duo are naturally the highest earners left and, under normal circumstances, may have been tipped to follow the likes of Joe Garner and Kal Naismith out of the door this month to cut costs further.

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But their sidelined status may prove to be a blessing in disguise, in terms of their availability for the run-in.

Latics remain desperately short of bodies due to being in administration and the 23-man squad limit.

But Richardson is hoping the return of the duo – in addition to a couple of short-term additions – will bring a huge lift at an important time.

“In a perfect world, we’ll be able to sign a couple more players before the end of the month,” he added.

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“And then to have two players like Gavin and Lee coming back, they would give the place a really big boost.

“It’s no secret we need numbers, and those two would also bring us something else as well.”

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