After a string of poor performances and a seeming fall-out with the management at the club, Camara spent a large proportion of last season out on loan with West Ham United, and that was spent warming the bench.
Clearly unhappy and with the view that he had no future with the Latics, Camara sparked him agent into over-drive in search of a new club for him over the summer. He was linked strongly with French club, Marseille, but nothing came of that.
The big surprise came upon arrival at the first day of pre-season training where manager Steve Bruce confessed to thinking Camara was no longer with the club and had left on a permanent basis.
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Since that time, the 31 year old striker has been putting in the work in training and has even been playing well and scoring goals in the pre-season friendlies.
The question is, will you be pleased to see Camara line up in a Latics shirt again or would you rather see him spend the last twelve months of his highly paid contract sat in the reserves with a Chimbonda esc sulk on?
He of course has history of this. Both Wolves and Celtic fans couldn't wait to get rid of Camara, despite his impressive performances in their respective colours. Clearly a talent, he seems to have itchy feet to match the blistering pace, and doesn't remain with clubs for long.
The time spent down in impoverished East Landan last season seems to have done him a world of good though. A fresh attitude and determination can be seen, and his appetite for scoring goals is back.
No doubt one of the higher earners at the club following his move from Wolves following our promotion to the top flight, Camara could in theory have just sat on his high wages for a year before joining a club such as Marseille in France. However he hasn't taken the easy option and wants to once again prove his ability.
Concerns could be raised about his settlement levels in Wigan. He appears to be only one of two French speakers in the squad, one of those being Antoine Sibierski who is also well settled in Cheshire and speaks good English. Camara meanwhile is not so well versed in English and could leave him feeling isolated.
There is also the lack of media communication from both Camara himself and also Steve Bruce regarding the matter. It would be nice to hear Camara come out and state how he wants to play for Wigan and he wants to continue to score goals for the club, whilst at the same time it would be nice for Steve Bruce to come out and confirm that Camara is a big part of his plans.
Even at 31 year old and with the impending threat of losing that blistering pace, Camara would command a transfer fee in the region of £3 million so surely to have such a player return to the fold is fantastic news.
Add to this the aerial strengths of Emile Heskey, the brute force of Amr Zaki and the guile of Antoine Sibierski and that Latics have a somewhat versatile looking forward line with plenty of depth.
It may just be my opinion, but certainly a fully firing Henri Camara would be a worthy addition to the squad, and while he may no longer be first choice, he represents a terrific back-up option to both Heskey and Zaki.
Thus I think once more, Steve Bruce is the man to be congratulated on a wise decision. Such congratulations could well be premature though as everyone knows how quickly Camara can turn cold. Looking on the positive side of this, hopefully that won't happen, and who would bet against a contract extension being on the table come January after Camara has regained his place in the first eleven?
Only time will tell…
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