Huddersfield Town loanee Grant Holt is aiming to be fit for pre-season at Wigan Athletic after cruciate ligament reconstruction.
The 34-year-old limped off on Boxing Day during Town’s 2-2 draw at Rotherham United and was thought to be facing up to nine months on the sidelines.
Holt – who played 15 times for Town, scoring two goals – has revealed, however, that he’s hoping to play a full part in pre-season at the now League One club.
“It’s been a long while now – around five months – and it was tough watching the relegation and not being able to do anything about it, but this is a fresh opportunity,” said the Carlisle-born striker.
“It’s been a frustrating couple of seasons for me, really, with changes of manager here and being out twice with long-term injuries, and I think what’s got me through is the fact I’ve nothing to worry about really. I’ve got a fantastic family who are healthy and safe, I’ve got a fantastic job, I’ve had a good career and my desire now is just to come back, play football and enjoy it again.
“We have a new manager, a new staff and I just want to come back for pre-season as fit as I possibly can be.”
Of his loan, which featured a seven-match unbeaten run under Chris Powell and some stand-out performances, Holt recalls: “I enjoyed my football at Huddersfield.
“I was ready to come back (to Wigan) with a point to prove to myself, I wanted to stay fit and really show everyone, but I wasn’t able to because of the injury, which was really frustrating.”
The chances of Holt returning to the John Smith’s Stadium would appear remote as they’ve added Ishmael Miller to the strike duo of James Vaughan and Nahki Wells and, of course, they have Harry Bunn and Joe Lolley who can step into a frontline role if needed.
