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George Johnston has pushed ahead of schedule after making his return to League One football against Wrexham.
Ian Evatt admits he had a change of heart on the defender after watching him against Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup, which prompted his decision to put him in from the start in Sunday’s goalless draw at the Toughsheet.
Johnston missed the whole of last season after having surgery to repair his cruciate ligament and the indications from the Bolton camp were that he would be steadily reintroduced to first team action.
But the former Liverpool man was in the starting XI for the first time since the play-off semi-final defeat at Barnsley in May 2023, rewarding his manager’s choice with a man-of-the-match performance.
Evatt told The Bolton News: “Tuesday I saw some signs in particular in the second half where I thought he was getting back to where he was before the injury, and that gave me the confidence to put him in.
“Jonno is an interesting character, we’d had some words last week when he wasn’t in the team and I told him he wasn’t quite ready yet but he was just frustrated and wanted to play.
“In the summer he was sending me WhatsApp pictures of a caged lion, and that’s how he feels. That’s George, he’s a funny guy. And I thought he was excellent.”
Johnston admits he wasn’t pleased to be left out of the squad on the opening day against Leyton Orient, and that he let his manager know exactly how he felt.
“I was quite frustrated with that,” he smiled. “But the gaffer explained his reasons why and I had to just keep my head down. I did all last week to make sure I was ready for when I am called upon.”
Wanderers fans saw Johnston back at his rambunctious best in the pre-season friendly against Fiorentina, where he announced his return with a thunderous challenge on £13million striker Moise Kean which ended up going viral.
“I needed to stand out and get in the manager’s head somehow,” he said. “The stars aligned and it was perfect for me.
“The ref said if it had been a normal game I would have been sent off, but it is what is it.”
Wanderers kept up their unbeaten start to the season with a point against Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham but Johnston admitted there was a slight feeling of disappointment after the final whistle.
“If you don’t win, don’t lose, but I think we are better than that,” he said. “We wanted all three points and we didn’t get them, so we see it as two points dropped.
“We started off really well and if we had kept up that sort of tempo for the rest of the game then I think we would have gone on and won it.
“But the gaffer wanted us to get back into the habit of keeping clean sheets and that is one positive we can take.”
Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup second round game at Shrewsbury Town will take place on Tuesday, August 27 (7.45pm kick-off).
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