Wigan Athletic chief reveals operation hope and delivers contract hint

The 20-year-old defender has been one of the major beneficiaries of Gary Caldwell's arrival as head coach in mid-February.

Chapman was handed his senior debut at Stockport in Caldwell's second match in charge on February 21.

And he played all nine games until the visit of Leyton Orient on April 2 before injury reared its ugly head.

"Llyton has had an operation on his knee, after tweaking a bit of his cartilage," reported Caldwell.

"It was a successful operation, but he will be out for all of the off-season. We're hoping he'll be back in the early to mid part of pre-season, fingers crossed."

Caldwell's positive comments on Chapman focusing on next season suggest he will be offered a new contract, with his present deal scheduled to expire this summer.

Most of the first-team squad will be out of contract after Saturday's season-ending trip to Stevenage, but Caldwell says Chapman's situation is not like the others.

"He was someone we spoke to anyway," said the Scot. "He's a younger player, so it's a totally different situation compared to the other first-team players.

"As far as the more senior players go, we have to focus on the next two games, and make sure those are our main focus.

"We need to pick up as many points as we can, and then - as I've always said - we'll assess the season as a whole...good, bad, indifferent.

"We'll analyse all of the departments, and obviously the players withtin that, to see whether they will be a part of the club next year or not.

"All I can say is the way we will do that will be open, honest, transparent, and we'll be letting people know in the best possible way.

"While this club is desperate to be successful, we also want to be good people and conduct our business in that manner."

Chapman joined Latics in the summer of 2023 following a short trial after being released by Oldham Athletic, who were then in the National League.