OLDHAM skipper Dean Holden will be cursing his luck if he has to sit out Sunday"s FA Cup tie at Boundary Park.

But a few weeks off with a sore ankle is nothing compared to the unlucky break that wrecked his chances of captaining Wanderers.

Holden was the defensive starlet who came through the Bolton academy and was destined for greatness until March, 2000, when he broke his leg in a First Division game against Sheffield United at the Reebok.

The injury not only cost him a place in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley a fortnight later, but ultimately led to him having to accept that he would never regain his first team place.

Resigned to his fate, he left for Oldham in May, 2002, after an impressive loan spell, becoming a mainstay of the Latics defence and, still only 25, having the distinction of captaining Brian Talbot's team.

He is now attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs, who are aware he will be out of contract this summer. But it could have been so different.

Mike Forde, the Wanderers' sports psychologist who helped Holden overcome the psychological effects of his injury, recalls the determination the talented young defender showed in fighting his way back.

"Getting such a serious injury so early in his career is something you wouldn't wish on anybody," he said.

"But he had the courage to come back. It was around his 21st birthday and I remember him working phenomenally hard.

"One of the big highlights was when he got back into the first team and scored against Sheffield United, of all teams, here at the Reebok. The emotion in the dressing room was incredible because everybody knew how hard he had worked and what it meant to him.

"I've followed his progress and there's still a lot more to come from Dean. The only shame is that he never got to be captain of Bolton."

Holden, who used to number Gudni Bergsson, Mark Fish and Mike Whitlow as his defensive sidekicks, took it badly when he realised the injury had cost him any hope of fulfilling his potential with Wanderers. But there are no hard feelings.

"I was very disappointed but I was just a young lad," he said.

"Bolton did me a favour in the end. They didn't ask for a fee for me and they worked as hard as they could to get me fixed up at a good club.

"But it still took me a while to get over the injury and all the disappointments it brought. It cost me a place at Wembley and the following season, when the lads were winning the Play-off Final, I was out on loan in Iceland watching on TV.

"I was really disheartened and it took me a long time to stop dwelling on the past and start focusing on the future. Now I try not to look back."

Holden still has fond memories, however, of being the talented new kid on the Reebok block.

"They were good times, great experiences playing with so many good players," he said.

"Under Sam, I went from playing in the reserves to being involved with the first team every game.

"When I was injured, I had first class treatment. Fordey was great and I owe him a lot. From what I've heard from other people I wasn't a nice person to be around in those days, but nobody could have been better looked after.

"I was upset when I had to leave but, when you're injured, you're just no good to anybody. It's not personal and I've never held it against Sam or Bolton that it didn't work out there."

It almost did not work out at Oldham. Soon after Holden signed, Latics went into administration.

He said: "It was tough to start with. We didn't get paid at one point and the club nearly went into liquidation. I was a young lad, who'd had the disappointment of being released by Bolton and was suddenly worrying whether I'd get my mortgage paid.

"Luckily new owners came in from America and put their money in and now it's looking good. There are plans for a new stadium and it's exciting, a bit like when Bolton moved from Burnden to the Reebok."

Holden, who admits it would be the highlight of his career if he could lead Oldham to victory against Wanderers, is making no wild predictions about the fourth round tie. But Latics already have one Premiership scalp.

"It sounds stupid to say we could get anything out of the game when you see how well Bolton did against Arsenal the other week," he said.

"But Manchester City had just been down to Arsenal and got a great result and we caught them cold. We hit top form and they didn't.

"If that happens against Bolton we have a chance. But Oldham beating Bolton would be like them going to Old Trafford and winning."

As a Salford-born ex-Wanderer, Holden is well aware that, in recent seasons, that has happened twice!