Grant Holt played his first minutes in nine months for Wigan's development squad on Tuesday.

Grant Holt played his first minutes in nine months for Wigan's development squad on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old forward suffered a cruciate tear in his knee while on loan with Huddersfield last December and was absent as Latics lost their Sky Bet Championship status at the end of last season.

With another year still remaining on his contract, Wigan boss Gary Caldwell is hopeful Holt can finally make a mark at the DW Stadium and he took a significant step on the comeback trail by playing half-an-hour in the friendly win over Preston.

"Came through my first 30 min which was great now time to kick on. Now Off to watch @officialcufc," the striker said on Twitter.

Holt has not played in a league game for Wigan since Boxing Day 2013 after falling out with then-Latics manager Uwe Rosler and both of his goals for the club came in August two years ago.

However, speaking recently, Caldwell stated he intends to include Holt as part of his squad to earn promotion back to the second tier.

Caldwell said: "To get him back and available would be a big boost to us because he's somebody who has not only done it in League One, he's done it in the Premier League. He has got great experience that we could really do with at the minute.

"It's a difficult time for any footballer. You have to be mentally strong to deal with that.

"Having spoken to him, he's someone who still believes he's got a part to play here and he has got a point to prove.

"He feels it's not quite gone for him for whatever reason - injuries being one of them - so he's still got a big point to prove to himself and to the Wigan fans and show how good a player he is.

"We believe, and obviously he's proved in the past, that he scores goals at any level."

Midfielder Tim Chow also played 45 minutes against Preston as he recovers from an ankle problem that has kept him out of action so far this season.

It was a busy deadline day at the DW Stadium, with Jack Hendry, Andy Kellett and Haris Vuckic all arriving while Sean Murray extended his loan from Watford until the middle of January.