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The injury ‘mini-crisis’ at Wanderers is starting to pass – and Ian Evatt believes his whole squad could yet be fit again by the end of the season.
Long-term casualties George Johnston, Dan Nlundulu and Randell Williams are all making good progress in their respective rehabs, with all three hoping to be back in training within the next few months.
In the shorter-term, Eoin Toal is managing his Achillies problem well, Will Forrester has stepped up his return from a hamstring problem and Ricardo Santos could be back available by the time Bolton face Blackpool later this month.
Evatt explained: “Things are gradually improving. Eoin is recovering well. We are trying to nick days here and there to give him some rest and recovery in between games but the ‘mini-crisis’ we had in January is now starting to pass.
“Rico isn’t far away at all. He will probably be back on the grass early next week and it is a decision where we try and take a calculated risk. There is always some element of risk associated with players returning from injury but we want enough credit in the bank to make sure the same thing doesn’t reoccur.
“I would think another week to 10 days and he will be knocking my door down saying he is ready to play.”
It is hoped that wing-back Williams could be back training by the end of March with a view to competing for a place in the team again for the run-in.
Johnston has been out after knee surgery since pre-season and Nlundulu also underwent an operation on his hamstring, but Evatt is upbeat about their chances of being involved – at least on the training ground – at the tail end of the campaign.
“I think Randell will have a part to play in the back-end of the season,” he said. “For now he is still very much in the early stages of rehabilitation. I think we worked out when he got injured that he was going to miss just over 70 per cent of the remaining games, which kind of forced our hand on bringing in another one.
“But he will have a big part to play at the end of the season. I know Dan (Nlundulu) still has high hopes of getting involved – which is credit to him – and if you ask George Johnston, he is already champing at the bit and ready to return to training. We have to be extremely cautious with him but the type of character he is, he wants to be back out there.
“Everyone is doing well, some are closer than others, but it has been good to see that they all want to get back involved.”
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