Skipper Liam Kelly admitted it was hard to miss last weekend's game with Mansfield Town but believes he is back to full fitness as he prepares for the visit to Chesterfield tomorrow.
The captain was forced to miss last weekend's FA Cup clash with Mansfield Town after picking up five bookings, causing an automatic one match ban.
However, that could be a positive as he comes back into the squad fighting fit and looking to prove a point tomorrow afternoon.
He said: "It's hard to enjoy it when you're not playing but it probably did me well having that rest after coming back from the injury and having a run of games. Last weekend has rejuvenated me so hopefully we put in a good performance on Saturday.
"We know it's not going to be an easy game but if we play like we did against Burton and just add the finishing touches then get a bit of luck we deserve then we can take something from this game."
Kelly took time to reflect on the season so far: "I think every single point we have earned this season has been hard earned point and I don't think we've had any slice of luck," assessed the 25-year-old.
"We are due a slice of luck very soon so I hope we can get that finishing touch on Saturday. A lot of the performances have deserved more, if we turned one or two of those draws into wins and we should be high up the table but it's down to us to do it ourselves.
"We out played Burton for 90 minutes and they only had one shot on target. They defended their box well and took their chance and that's the difference between us and them.
"We have got to be more clincal in the final third because I don't think we've been scoring enough goals. Sometimes we have got to defend our box better because if you look at other teams, they do.
'You wouldn't think Gillingham, Walsall and Burton would be up there but they are doing things right in both boxes."
Latics now face five games in 14 days but it's a good chance to turn that bad fortune around.
"It's good when you have a cluster of games because it's a great chance to pick up points and they stake up quickly," said Kelly.
"We need to go to Chesterfield and set ourselves on the right track for the next run of games."
Watch the full interview on Latics PlayerHD.