Roberto Martinez hopes that Arsenal will allow Ryo Miyaichi to spend another season on-loan at Wigan after injuries allowed him to make just seven appearances this term.

The Japan international has been blighted by injuries and is unlikely to feature again this season after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury that he picked up in last weekend's FA Cup victory over Everton.

Miyaichi was making his first appearance since November and had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes before being stretchered off after a heavy challenge from Kevin Miralles.

Despite injuries ruining his chances of demonstrating his quality, Martinez is hopeful that Arsene Wenger will allow the youngster to return to the DW Stadium once again next season.

"We will have to speak with Arsenal and we need to assess and make sure they are happy with the progression of the player," Martinez told Sky Sports.

"Ryo is a footballer that we really admire and has an incredible future in front of him so if we could work with him for a longer period we would be very happy to do that."

Arsenal have been willing to allow the 20-year-old to go out on loan in order to gain some first team experience and he previously excelled during a stint in Holland as he scored three goals in 12 appearances for Feyenoord.

Wigan have suffered with injuries this season and have only just been able to call upon centre-back Antolin Alcaraz who has made just six appearances after spending more than six months on the sidelines with a groin injury.

With Wigan attempting to avoid relegation and heading to Wembley to play in the FA Cup semi-final, Martinez will be hoping to have better luck with injuries for the remainder of the season.

The Spanish boss also has a theory on why there have been so many injuries to players in the Premier League this season.

"Don't get me wrong, football in general gets more demanding physically, that is clearly the way the game is developing," added Martinez.

"The more technology in sports science means you create better athletes but I think the weather and rain we had this summer has created difficult surfaces to play and train on.

"It would be interesting to find out how many injuries clubs throughout the leagues have had compared to last year because the number has been much higher. I don't think the physicality of the league has anything to do with that."

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