Latics hit by injury crisis

Out: James Wilson

DEAN Holden has issued a rallying call to Athletic supporters after it was revealed that EIGHT players could miss tomorrow’s clash with Barnsley.

The calamitous injury list is headed by two of the team’s key men - captain Liam Kelly and centre-back James Wilson.

Kelly pulled a calf muscle during the Yeovil game and a scan revealed a tear that means he will be missing for a minimum of four weeks — ruling him out for most of the remainder of the season.

Wilson sustained a similar injury during training and is also set for a period on the sidelines.

And Dominic Poleon is suffering from a shoulder injury after falling awkwardly in training.

It could be that the forward will be able to play tomorrow with the aid of an injection, but the club are awaiting advice from a specialist in Norway.

The worst-case scenario is that he won’t play again at all this season.

Add those injuries to George Elokobi (calf), Joseph Mills (calf) Jacob Mellis (hamstring) and Amari Morgan-Smith (hamstring), plus the suspension of right-back Brian Wilson, and the selection problems for Holden are clear.

The caretaker manager was expecting to tie up loan deals for Rotherham left-back Mat Sadler and young Bolton midfielder Luke Woodland today. A centre-back from the Championship could also be on his way in.

Still, Holden is determined that fans don’t turn up tomorrow with a pessimistic outlook.

And he wants every player he does manage to get out on to the field to give it everything.

“The fact that we are looking at seven players out injured is obviously not ideal,” Holden told the Chronicle.

“But what it does is, it gives a chance for their replacements to shine. That is the challenge we have set for them.

“Adversity can bring out the very best in people and we want that to be the case against Barnsley.

“It should be a great atmosphere and we want the fans to really get behind the team from the off.”

Sadler (30) is an experienced former Walsall and Crawley defender whose arrival will allow Connor Brown to revert to his natural right-back berth.

Woodland, a member of Bolton’s development squad, has yet to make his senior professional debut.

The 19-year-old, who was born in Abu Dhabi, is an England under-17 international and will provide essential cover in Kelly’s extended absence.

Athletic now have five loan players in their playing squad, the maximum number that can be fielded on any single match day, and should a deal for a new centre-back come off that would take it up to six.

Goalkeeper Jake Kean, Mellis and striker Conor Wilkinson — who is in line for a start tomorrow — are the others.

One positive on the player front is that club captain Adam Lockwood, Holden’s temporary assistant, is ready to turn out for a third time this season despite coming off late in the Yeovil game.

Meanwhile, Brown has said he will be happy to stay on at Athletic beyond his existing deal which expires in the summer.

“Nothing has been spoken about yet so I will have to see if the new manager likes me when one comes in, or if the chairman wants to keep me,” Brown said. “I will do my best until then.

“I want to stay. I have always loved it here and if I get offered a contract I would be willing to sign it.”

Athletic (probable, 4-4-2): Kean, Brown, Lockwood, Kusunga, Sadler; Winchester, Dieng, Jones, Forte; Philliskirk, Wilkinson. Subs (from): Coleman, Truelove, Woodland, Bove, Murphy, Turner.