Silko Thomas injury means Wigan Athletic transfer 'rethink', admits Shaun Maloney

The 20-year-old on-loan Leicester City winger was stretchered off midway through the first half against the Imps after sustaining damage to his left knee.

While Maloney is still waiting to discover the full diagnosis of the injury, he is well aware the clock is ticking towards Monday's 11pm transfer deadline.

And having previously voiced his hope Latics were 'finished' with their January business, Maloney - along with sporting director Gregor Rioch and recruitment chief Stephen Gormal - now has a big decision to make.

"I said last weekend I was hoping it would be a quiet last week in the window," said the Latics boss. "Unfortunately Luton came straight in and triggered the Thelo (Aasgaard) deal, and that meant we had to bring in Ronan (Darcy).

"Now Silko looks like he's got a bad injury, we might have to do something in the next couple of days. Obviously Michael (Olakigbe) also went back to Brentford at the beginning of the week, and now we're another winger down.

"I don't want to be over-reliant on Dion (Rankine), and hurry him back, because he will have been out for a long time. We've also got Cal Mac, who I need to get fully fit, I'm not convinced he's absolutely fully fit.

"It might also be time for Maleace (Asamoah) to push forward and show what he's got. I know Darcy can play in a wide left position, but I don't want to use him out there, I see more as a '10'.

"So we might have to do something in the market before the deadline. I would love to be quiet but, if Silko's injury is a bad one, we'll need to cover that position."

On Thomas' injury, Maloney – who watched Saturday’s game from the gantry due to a touchline ban – said: "He's not great, we think it's a bad one. It's a knee injury, we'll probably find out the full extent on Monday, but it doesn't look good. I don't think it's ligaments, maybe another part of the knee...but it looks a bad one.

"I know many other managers in many other leagues will talk about injuries, but we've certainly had a bit of bad luck this season. It's cost us in those wide areas and in the midfield, but sometimes you get good seasons, and sometimes less so."

Latics have now exceeded double figures in terms of players currently injured.

Thomas joins Luke Chambers (back), Steven Sessegnon (knee), Tyrese Francois (ankle), Matt Smith (hamstring), Baba Adeeko (hamstring), Kai Payne (knee), Dion Rankine (hamstring) and Callum McManaman (‘not fully fit’, according to the manager) on the sidelines.

Chris Sze has also been unavailable for much of the season due to ‘off-field issues’, while youngster Joe Adams was forced to return from a loan spell at League Two outfit Bradford City after sustaining serious knee ligament damage that ended his season.