Perkins ready to return as Latics boss provides Saydee injury update
· Greg Farrimond · 2026-08-01 · nguồn gốc
Sonny Perkins ready to return as Wigan Athletic boss provides Christian Saydee injury update
Gary Caldwell has provided the injury latest from within the Wigan Athletic camp ahead of Saturday’s trip to Grimsby Town
Striker Sonny Perkins is available to return for Wigan Athletic's trip to Grimsby Town after missing last weekend as a precaution.
Latics boss Gary Caldwell confirmed that Perkins was withdrawn before last week's 3-0 win over AFC Fylde after feeling discomfort in his quad, but Caldwell says the striker is now ready to feature and could play a full part against the Mariners.
Strike partner Christian Saydee, however, remains sidelined with a calf injury and will miss the start of the season as was feared.
"Sonny's fine," said Caldwell. "Last week was just a precaution. He desperately wanted to train on the Friday, but he just felt his quad.
"I think it was a really good decision by the medical team to pull him out of training. He did his running over the weekend, so he didn't miss much physically, and he's available for 90 minutes.
“Christian Saydee is still out with his calf injury - it was a bit more serious, and he's still a number of weeks away.”
There was more positive news on Friday evening as Llyton Chapman made his first appearance since April in the goalless draw at Southport.
The defender played the opening 45 minutes at Haig Avenue, taking another important step in his recovery after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Caldwell was pleased to see the youngster back in action and believes the outing will help him regain the sharpness that only competitive minutes can provide.
"It's brilliant for him," said Caldwell. "He's worked extremely hard in the off-season and he was a massive boost for us at the back end of last season when he came into the team.
"I think you saw again (against Southport) that he's aggressive. He was probably a little bit rusty in possession, but he's not had a lot of training with the group.
"It was good for him to get 45 minutes, build his fitness and his pitch geography. His decision-making was probably a little bit off at times, but that's to be expected considering how long he's been out and the amount of training he's had."
Ahead of kick-off, the club also provided an update on trialist Nico Lawrence.
The 22-year-old defender was badly injured during last week's friendly at AFC Fylde. Such was the severity of the incident, the referee brought a premature end to the game in the 80th minute.
Writing in her board bulletin, Latics’ managing director Sarah Guilfoyle said: "We would like to again send our best wishes to Nico Lawrence. Nico has been on trial with the football club since the start of July, and sadly sustained a severe injury whilst playing at Mill Farm last weekend.
"Nico is back home with his family and ready to undertake the road to recovery. Our thanks to the medical staff of both clubs, North West Ambulance Service, and the staff at Royal Preston Hospital for their swift reactions, and who helped make Nico as comfortable as possible.”