Jewell pleased at Kirkland release

Wigan manager Paul Jewell has thanked England boss Steve McClaren for releasing goalkeeper Chris Kirkland from international duty.

McClaren earlier on Monday revealed Kirkland would not be travelling with the rest of the squad for Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia in Skopje.

McClaren claimed Kirkland "woke up at home on Sunday morning with a stiff back", so ruling him out, to which he added it was "a real disappointment".

Far from it being an injury scare, bearing in mind Kirkland's past history of problems, he will be fit to face Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday.

The 25-year-old has suffered a touch of sciatica and has been withdrawn as a precautionary following discussions between Wigan physio Alan Tomlinson and England's head physio Gary Llewellyn.

Both parties were keen not for the problem to intensify on the flight across to Skopje, allowing Kirkland instead to undergo treatment at Wigan's Christopher Park training ground.

Jewell said: "England did the right thing by letting him stay at home, and we thank them for that."

Another piece of good news for Jewell is the club have finally received the green light from world governing body FIFA to play Andy Webster.

The move for Webster has been a ground-breaking one for Wigan, but also painstaking due to the complicated nature of the deal.

Webster freed himself early from his contract with Hearts, using a loophole in a European Union employment law adopted by FIFA. With the 24-year-old three years into a four-year contract with the Bank of Scotland Premier League club, he invoked Article 17 of FIFA's rules governing transfers.