Camara punished by Wigan
Henri Camara has received a rap on the knuckles from Wigan boss Paul Jewell after going AWOL last weekend.
Jewell was fuming that his star striker did not make it back to England in time to face Liverpool, even though his African Nations Cup commitments with Senegal had been completed two days earlier.
After his initial blast, the Latics boss has been eager to draw a line under Camara’s no-show, which was prompted by a missed flight from Senegal to France.
But, in declaring the matter closed, Jewell’s assistant Chris Hutchings confirmed the 28-year-old had been subjected to internal sanctions.
“There was definitely frustration about Henri’s non-appearance last weekend,” said Hutchings.
“We weren’t happy about it and Henri knows that.
“No-one is bigger than the team and the lads know that. The matter has been dealt with internally, Henri has to accept the punishment and we want to put the whole situation to bed.
“Henri has been knuckling down in training over the last couple of days, which is what we expected.
"Now we just want to get on with the games that lie ahead.”
Hutchings confirmed Camara would be in the squad to face Tottenham in a re-arranged Premiership clash at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Jewell will no doubt be looking for a big performance from a player who has excelled since his £3m (€4.4m) arrival from Wolves but has not turned out for the Latics since the defeat at Birmingham on January 2.
In his absence, Wigan have reached the Carling Cup final and consolidated their position in the top half of the table.
However, Jewell was desperate to have Camara back in the fold after a run of injuries and suspensions which have robbed his side of key attacking options.
Jason Roberts misses out again on Sunday as he serves the final game of a three-match ban, while David Connolly is still sidelined with a hamstring strain.
There is better news for Lee McCulloch though as the Scotland international is due to return to training tomorrow after his recent hernia operation, while Neil Mellor is available after missing last week’s defeat to Liverpool due to the rules on loan players facing their own club.
The same regulation keeps Reto Ziegler out of the capital trip, so Leighton Baines should return at right-back, while Pascal Chimbonda is available again after serving a one-match suspension.
