Jewell fears for De Zeeuw
02 May 2007 - 14:08:43
-
- Jewell fears for De Zeeuw
Wigan Athletic could be without captain Arjan De Zeeuw for the final two matches of the season as they battle to remain in the Premiership.
The 37-year-old Dutchman, who has struggled with toe and back injuries this term, limped out of Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United with an ankle problem.
He looks certain to miss Saturday's home game with Middlesbrough and is also a doubt for the final day clash at Sheffield United.
"He has a nasty ankle injury - and if he comes off you know it has to be nasty with 'Arry," Latics boss Paul Jewell told the Manchester Evening News.
"There's a lot of swelling around his ankle, and he's a major doubt for the weekend, and a risk he might miss the last game.
"But knowing 'Arry, he never rules himself out of games, so we'll have to see how he is. But I think he's got no chance for Saturday."
Jewell is determined to keep his side in the Premiership for a third successive season, but knows that a seven-match winless run has left the Latics in grave danger of the drop.
He added: "I don't want to go back down to the Championship, I want to stay in the Premiership. To do that, we need to put up enough fight.
"We're struggling at the moment and we're quickly running out of games. Our destiny remains in our own hands, but if we play like we did against West Ham, we'll get relegated.
"We have to believe we can do better and I know we can.
"If we can stay in this division with all the revenue and extra money coming in, we can maybe look higher. The situation we find ourselves in right now isn't good, but we can still do something about it."