Amr Zaki appears to be out of tonight’s FA Cup encounter with Spurs although there are conflicting reports on his condition.
Wigan’s official site report that he is still suffering problems with a calf injury that were aggravated at Bolton on Sunday. They indicate that he will be assessed prior to tonight’s game. However, according to Zaki’s official site, the striker apparently picked up a knee injury in that game and will definitely sit out tonight’s cup tie as a result.
There’s no confirmation on the extent of the injury but, with a possible double gameweek beckoning, this latest news will come as some concern for his fantasy owners…
My bet is that this is just Wigan taking precautions with the player – with the Premier League game with Spurs on Saturday week, the priority. Quite why Zaki reports a different injury is anyone’s guess, so we’ll have to keep an eye on this one.
The prospect of a double gameweek will be partly decided this evening. Should the Spurs vs Wigan tie ends in a draw then Wigan’s fixture at Old Trafford on January 14 will be postponed to make way for the replay. Fortunately, Wigan have a host of injuries including the likes of Heskey and Kirkland, and are set to field a second-string lineup
“This game will give me an opportunity to give some of the players that haven’t featured too much to play and show what they can do,” remarked Bruce prior to tonight’s game.
Hopefully, with Spurs likely to give more priority to the Cup, the omens look good for this one to be decided at the Lane. Then it’s down to United’s reserves to do their bit at Southampton for the United vs Wigan Premier League game to be confirmed.
