ROBBIE Elliott added to Wanderers' warm-up woes when he joined the Reebok casualty list last night. The Geordie became the fifth defender in three days to check into the treatment room, frustrating Colin Todd's hopes of a trouble-free pre-season programme.

Elliott suffered a calf injury playing for a Bolton Xl in a friendly at Runcorn, which the home side won 2-0.

Defence threatened

The extent of the damage was being assessed today as physio Ewan Simpson dealt with a series of pulls, knocks and strains that are threatening to decimate the defensive department of the squad for tomorrow night's friendly at Blackpool.

Paul Warhurst and Neil Cox have already been ruled out after picking up ankle and hamstring injuries in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Stoke and trialist Juan Cobian is doubtful with a bruised foot. With Greg Strong suffering a knee injury in training and Mark Fish not being considered after only returning yesterday from his extended break in South Africa, options will be severely restricted.

More important, though, are the longer term implications with Warhurst fearing he could miss the start of the new season after suffering the latest in a series of setbacks that have plagued his Bolton career.

Options restricted

His withdrawal at Stoke was thought to have been a precaution but checks have since suggested the problem is more serious than that.

But the goalkeeping situation, which meant Todd went to Stoke without two of his three senior contenders, has eased with Keith Branagan having recovered from a hamstring problem and expecting to get a runout at Blackpool while Steve Banks is being tipped to be back in action by the end of the month after recovering from a double hernia operation. Per Frandsen, who has been the subject of summer-long transfer speculation, gets his first taste of pre-season action at Blackpool.

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