Wigan Athletic chief provides updates on Chris Sze, James Carragher, Joseph Hungo and Maleace Asamoah

The 21-year-old made the last of his eight appearances for Latics this term in the 3-2 defeat at Chesterfield in the Vertu Trophy at the beginning of December.

But a social media post earlier this week showed he was back at the club and, given the current injuries in the striking ranks, it's a very timely return.

"He'll give us another option, we've definitely missed him, particularly in that '9' position," said Maloney, who was also keen not to raise hopes of an imminent return too much.

"He's still a few weeks away, but he is back training, starting with the gym work, not back on the pitch yet...but it is great to see him back."

Maloney also provided an update on centre-back James Carragher, who has missed the last three matches since reporting unwell at the beginning of last week.

"Carra trained again today, and we'll see how he is on Friday," said the Latics chief. "But he has lost a lot of weight over the last week...around three kilos, which is a fair bit.

"It was a virus, and we didn't see him for about five days. We'll have a look at him for the weekend but, if not, we'll need him back pretty soon.

"It's a tough one, because you can't really push him too quickly, but I'd like him back with the squad as quickly as possible."

Maleace Asamoah also has a chance of being involved against Reading on Saturday, but the news is less positive regarding fellow winger Joseph Hungbo.

"Joseph will probably be out for about three weeks," added Maloney. "I wasn't sure if Maleace would be available to come back in (against Huddersfield) on Tuesday, but I'm hopeful he will be okay for the weekend."

Latics have picked up four points from their last two games against promotion-chasing opposition in Huddersfield and Wycombe.

They will face another tough test this weekend against ninth-placed Reading, who won the corresponding fixture 2-0 in the opening month of the campaign.

"I hope our performance is better than it was on that occasion," acknowledged Maloney. "I remember that quite clearly. We were really poor that day.”