Chris Taylor has given Latics a major lift as they prepare to play Leeds United tonight at Elland Road in Coca-Cola League One.
The 23-year-old winger has recovered from the knock he received to his hip in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Colchester.
There had been worries as the whack was on the same spot which recently resulted in a three-week lay off.
Happily the injury was not serious and Taylor was yesterday able to train normally.
Latics' two other absentees at Colchester - Jim Goodwin and Danny Whitaker - won't be featuring tonight at Elland Road,
Goodwin has failed to overcome the thigh-muscle strain sustained last week in training as he has set his sights on a return against Norwich on Saturday.
Whitaker, meanwhile, is still suffering from flu-like symptoms.
Manager Dave Penney is looking to build on Saturday's encouraging performance at third-placed Colchester where with better finishing they would have won comfortably.
He said: "We had a lot of chances and, with better finishing, we could have won by two or three goals. We were disappointed not to get at least a point.
"It says it all that Colchester were flying in the league in third place and their keeper was named man-of-the-match.
"We are doing a lot of things right, but the main thing is putting the ball in the back of the net. We are at least hitting the target and shots are not flying into the stands to Row Z.
"I have been relatively pleased with the way we have been playing and eventually performances should reap points."
Penney added that he anticipates a tough match, despite Leeds' poor run which has seen them win only one of their last eight league matches.
Jemaine Beckford will be the main threat to Latics as he has scored 24 goals, though he has failed to find the net in his last four appearances.
At the beginning of January they were top and 11 points clear of third-placed Norwich. Today they are second and three points behind Norwich and only one point ahead of third-placed Colchester.
Latics have lost twice to Leeds at Boundary Park this season in the league and FA Cup, each by 2-0 margins.
However, Latics have won at Elland Road on each of their last two visits to Elland Road and tonight will be aiming to complete a hat trick of victories on the ground of their arch rivals.
