Monday 23 February 2015 13:30, UK
Wigan are awaiting the results on a second scan to determine if Wolves loanee Leon Clarke's spell with them will be ended by a shoulder blade injury.
The striker picked up the concerning problem in Friday night's loss to Charlton when, after a seemingly innocuous fall, he lay motionless on the turf for almost 10 minutes before being stretchered off on a spinal board and neck brace.
Clarke was immediately sent to hospital after also receiving oxygen at half-time, with Latics boss Malky Mackay revealing on Monday morning that the initial diagnosis had shown the problem was a rare shoulder blade injury.
The 30-year-old will have his shoulder rescanned on Monday in the midlands before it is decided how long he is expected to be out for.
"He's had one scan, he's gone back down to Wolverhampton and we've both decided he's going to have a second scan," said Mackay.
"It's a shoulder blade issue which is something that's very, very rare in football. They're doing the second scans at the moment to check the extent of the damage, whether it's a short-term or long-term injury.
"I'm obviously hoping it's a short-term injury and it's something that (means) we can get him back. That will be decided then whether it's a four-week injury or a 10-week injury. If it's 10 weeks he's obviously finished with us, if it's four weeks, he's not.
"Coming off the pitch the other night he was in a neck brace and that was because at the time when he got hit he couldn't feel his arms. Immediately that causes serious issues and the medical staff put him in the neck brace in case there was a spinal issue.
"We then find out it was a shoulder blade problem. He was in the hospital, had oxygen and was on a drip and he was in a bad way on the night of the game. But it was coming from his shoulder.
"There's a second scan because his movement's got much, much better over the last couple of days.
"They'll be a second one today to determine whether there's the possibility of the rehab being short or long."
Clarke came off on Friday after midfielder William Kvist had already been withdrawn and while the Denmark international has "tweaked his hamstring", Mackay is hopeful he will only miss two-or-three weeks.
