Paper Talk: I'll be back

Last updated : 11 January 2005 By Wigan Evening Post.
The midfielder ended more than five months of injury agony on Sunday when he was plunged into the Potters side for their FA Cup tie against Arsenal at Highbury.

He came up against Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas and managed his first 90 minutes of competitive football since the end of last season.

Jarrett hopes the rest of his month's loan spell at Stoke can provide further first team opportunities as he seeks to regain full fitness after breaking his ankle and snapping ligaments in a pre-season friendly.

He then aims to return to Wigan and try and force his way back into Paul Jewell's squad in which he was a regular until the injury.

The temporary switch to the Potteries happened quickly at the end of last week and Jarrett admitted it was a shock to the system to swap Pontins League football for an FA Cup clash with the reigning Premiership champions.

He told the Evening Post: "I got an inkling about the loan deal on Thursday night and then Paul Jewell rang me to see if I wanted to get some first team games.

"I'd only managed a couple of runs in the reserves at Wigan following the injury so I jumped at the chance to go to Stoke.

"Playing against Arsenal on Sunday was a great experience and that's the first time I had played at Highbury in my career.

"Vieira and Fabregas were in the centre of their midfield and after so long out injured, I suppose they're not the type of player you want to be facing!

"But I thought I managed okay and it was a bonus to play the whole game as I thought I'd get tired in the last few minutes.

Schedule "Due to the fixture list, I think I've only got another two matches with Stoke before the loan comes to an end.

"We're at Queens Park Rangers on Friday night and then it's Leeds at home the following week.

"After being knocked out of the FA Cup, there's no game the weekend after, and then Stoke play Wigan which I can't appear in.

"I definitely still see my future at Wigan, but at the moment I can't expect to go back into the squad without getting my fitness back."

Jarrett was injured in July playing against Leigh RMI, and has found the road to recovery a long and winding one.

He initially hoped for a return to action by November, but it was another month before he took his first tentative steps in the reserves.

The former Bury player said: "It was a bad injury, I broke the bone and snapped the ligaments on the other side, and it's the ligaments which take the time to heal.

"I'd never had a serious injury before and it was such a let down because until then, I'd felt great in pre-season training.

"It has been a long slog back, really frustrating, and it was only in November when I returned.

"When I suffered the injury, the recovery time was put at 14 weeks but it was more like 20 weeks by the time I came back.

"But I now feel 100 per cent and the next step is to play some first team games to get my sharpness back.

"When I'm fully match sharp, I hope I can make a contribution in the last few months of the season because I'll be fresh."

* Former Bolton midfielder Stig Tofting is training with Latics in a bid to attract a new club during the transfer window.

The Denmark international, a good friend of Per Frandsen, is currently without a club having left Aarhus last month following an incident at the Danish club's Christmas party.

It is not thought Latics are chasing his services but just helping him keep his fitness levels.