Chris Kirkland out 'for two to three weeks' after training ground injury

The club have confirmed that goalkeeper Chris Kirkland faces a short spell on the sidelines after damaging a part of his collarbone during training.

The 28 year-old has suffered an injury to his sternoclavicular joint following an accidental collision in training last week, and after a consultation with a specialist over the weekend, Kirkland has been ordered to rest.

Roberto Martinez, Latics manager, said: "This is a completely new injury, I must stress that, it could have happened to anyone. I'm disappointed to lose him but the diagnosis is much better than it could have been and Chris should be back in full training within a fortnight hopefully.

"It's important that we get him back in contention as soon as possible, but we have to be certain the injury is healed before risking him."

Kirkland travelled to Manchester Bridgewater Hospital and was examined by consultant Mr Leonard Funk on Saturday.

Richard Evans, Head of Sports Science at Wigan Athletic, said: "The consultant was happy with the alignment of the bone, there is certainly no fracture and he has assured us it will heal completely given a rest period. It could have been a lot worse."