Wigan Athletic vs Birmingham City injury news - as four players sidelined and four doubts

Birmingham City head back out on the road this Saturday afternoon as they take on Wigan Athletic away from home. Desperate to avoid a fifth successive defeat in the Sky Bet Championship, under pressure manager John Eustace could make a few changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Luton Town last weekend.

Neither of these switches will see central defender Dion Sanderson and captain Troy Deeney back in the team, however, as both are set to be out for another four or five weeks. Sanderson has been suffering from a back issue, whereas Deeney has a bad hamstring strain.

Brighton loanee Reda Khadra (hamstring) has made progress, though, and could feature at the weekend. Meanwhile, Krystian Bielik, who was caught with a heavy challenge in the 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town, is still on the treatment table. American defender Auston Trusty is facing a late fitness test for a calf issue.

“Reda has had a good week,” Eustace said pre-match. “He joined in on Tuesday, so he’s had a good couple of days training which has been a massive plus for us. He will certainly be pushing for Saturday. Krystian is still a couple of weeks away. Trusty will be touch and go for the weekend. He had a calf strain so he was a big miss for us last week,” Eustace said.

Wigan could see a double return as they play host to Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon but there is one player guaranteed to miss out. Omar Rekik has been out for a few matches but head coach Shaun Maloney said that another week of training has helped his progress.

Northern Irish forward Josh Magennis is a doubt but could make the squad. “We’ve had Magennis back in training, so we are slowly getting more players back,” Maloney said. “The more competition we have in the squad, the better it is for me. It is very competitive and it will make decisions very hard,” Maloney continued.

While those two are doubtful, The Latics know they will definitely have to make do without experienced Martin Kelly. Speaking after a draw against Blackburn Rovers a month ago, Maloney said: “Martin has had a scan and sadly it’s a serious knee injury. Sadly it’s season-ending for him.”

Ruled out: Kelly (WIG); Sanderson, Deeney, Bielik (BIR).

Doubts: Rekik, Magennis (WIG); Khadra, Trusty (BIR).