Secret fitness regime that enabled Christian Saydee to make sensational Wigan Athletic return

Gary Caldwell backed a 'fitter' and 'stronger' Christian Saydee to prove he's one of the best centre-forwards in League One after his sensational return from injury helped Wigan Athletic see off Reading.

Saydee made his first appearance off the bench midway through the second half on Saturday after recovering from a calf problem picked up at the start of pre-season.

And he took just four minutes to lead a break down the right-hand side, before his cross was bundled home by Scott Hogan to secure only a second league victory of the campaign.

Latics remain the lowest scorers and bottom side in the third tier, but Caldwell feels the return of Saydee - who joined Latics from Championship outfit Portsmouth in the summer of 2025 - can help to propel the side up the table.

"He's just a brilliant player," enthused the Latics chief. "When he plays like that, with physicality and running power.

"What we have to do is get Christian doing that more often. We don't want the odd 20 or 30 minute cameos, we need 90 minutes of that.

"He's worked really hard on his fitness since the injury. He's got his weight down, he looks strong and he looks fit.

"He's been training for two or three weeks now at that level, and we have almost been holding him back because we didn't want to throw him in too early.

"But I felt like the way they locked on and went man for man in the second half, we didn't have an outlet, and he made for a fantastic focal point to play off and get us up the pitch.

"And the goal was created by his physicality and running power down the line."

Caldwell then revealed the lengths Saydee has gone to since the end of last season to ensure he can rediscover his top form.

"When I first came back into the club, I remember the Luton game, he was outstanding for me,” acknowledged the Scot. “And I've told him that, with the quality he has, he can be one of the best No.9s in this league.

"He has to get fitter, he has to get stronger, and he knows that. But when he's in this frame of mind, when he trains the way he's been training, that transfers to out there on the pitch.

"He's worked extremely hard in the gym with the physios when he's been injured, and he looks in as good a shape as I've seen him over the last few years.

"Now he has to keep going, and keep working hard, because when he plays like that, he's very, very difficult for opposition teams to deal with.

"When teams go man for man, it's vital we have that physicality to play off him, which enables us to play in different ways.

"When we don't have that, we are almost forced into playing a certain way, and we almost pass our way into trouble.

"When he came on the game changed.”