Wigan Athletic star on career kickstart after 'horrendous' injury

The 29-year-old's career looked to have stalled after joining Rotherham from Blackpool in January 2020.

He managed only 60 minutes of football in the second half of the campaign because of a hip problem - one described as 'horrendous' by Millers manager Paul Warne - that required surgery.

But after being allowed to join Latics on loan, Tilt has got back on track, with 35 appearances - including a maiden cap for Jamaica - which has seen him put forward by some as a possible player of the year.

"After my operation at Rotherham, I needed a run of games to get back into the swing," he admitted.

"Wigan gave me the chance to do that, and I can't thank them enough for allowing me the opportunity.

"I've enjoyed every minute of my time here, it's a fantastic club and the fans have been so supportive.

"They've not really got on our cases when things weren't going away, because they obviously knew the position we were in and what we were going through.

"We've all stuck together as a club and hopefully we'll be able to celebrate together at the end of the season."

Tilt's commitment to the cause was shown in January, when he went back to Rotherham before asking to rejoin Latics.

"I wanted to come back in January when the first loan was up to help finish the job," he added.

"To be honest, I don't think Leam (Richardson) would have allowed me to do anything but come back here.

"He rang me more than anyone else to keep checking what was going on, and I felt my work here wasn't over and done with.

"It was an absolute no-brainer for me to come back here and help the lads achieve what we set out to achieve."

Get 20% off our sports subscription package and stay up to date with all the latest Wigan Athletic news with a year’s subscription to WiganToday for less than 9p a day. Use promo code TRANSFER20