Wigan’s Scharner in race to face Clarets

by Will Swanson. Published Wed 21 Oct 2009 12:29

Paul Scharner is confident he will make the trip to Burnley despite aggravating a hip problem against Manchester City.

The Austrian picked up the injury in the final training session of last week, but was passed fit to play The Blues.

The 29-year-old will be assessed ahead of the game, but he envisages himself taking his place at Turf Moor.

Scharner said: "I picked up the injury the day before the game, but it felt comfortable during the warm-up.

"But during the game it tightened up again, and in the end I couldn't continue.

"We'll assess the injury, but hopefully I'll be okay for Saturday. I think I will be fine."

Latics boss Roberto Martinez believes the problem is due to an overload of competitive games recently, including back-to-back international games.

He said: "We'll assess him over the next 24 hours, and we're hoping it is only swelling.

"Obviously he's played three games in the space of week, and sometimes this is the kind of effect you get from travelling and playing international football.

"Hopefully, there'll be some positive news for us."