Ricardo Santos of Bolton during the Sky Bet League One match between Bolton Wanderers and Ipswich Town at University of Bolton Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Bolton, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt should have several key players back from injury for Saturday’s visit of Northampton.
Ricardo Santos, Paris Maghoma and Gethin Jones are all expected to be available again while summer signing Carlos Mendes Gomes may also be in contention.
Evatt is also hoping that key striker Dion Charles will report back from international duty with Northern Ireland showing no ill-effects of the shoulder problem that has been hampering him.
Bolton were stunned 3-1 by Carlisle United last time out but the pre-season title favourites will be aiming to get back on track this weekend.
“We said for a few weeks that we might have to just get through this difficult spell and, unfortunately, we couldn’t sign off in the way we would have wanted before the break,” said Evatt.
“But I think when you look at the game and how it unfolded, we really missed those players with an X Factor when we wanted someone to dribble, cut through, that is why we signed Carlos and Paris.
“We have our star striker, who has still managed to score goals but not been himself because of his injury. Any team in this division would suffer with those players out. We have still managed to gain some results but we need them back and we’ll need a bit of the rub of the green to keep them fit too.
“We will take a bit of heat, as we always do, but we need to come back and prove people wrong. We had a little window to freshen things up, get everyone back, and now we can attack that game against Northampton to make sure we are back on track.”
