WANDERERS have been hit with a major injury blow as they prepare to pick up their Championship survival bid tomorrow at QPR.

Jason Lowe was told by specialists yesterday he would be out of action for up to 10 weeks with ankle ligament damage sustained before the international break, just eight minutes into the 5-2 defeat at Wigan.

The midfielder has played more minutes than any other member of Phil Parkinson’s squad this season – and though he will not require surgery, he will have to watch from the sidelines for the remaining eight games of the campaign.

“It’s disappointing news for us and for Jason,” Parkinson told The Bolton News.

“He just caught his foot in the grass making a tackle, but sometimes those innocuous ones can lead to bad injuries.

“This particular one is worse than we initially feared, but it’s important now we get him right, and it’s good the injury won’t involve surgery.”

Wanderers head to Loftus Road tomorrow with concerns over two other first-teamers, Jack Hobbs and Luke Murphy.

Hobbs is considered a major doubt with a back problem, while Murphy has also missed training this week with a calf strain.

Luca Connell only reported back from international duty with the Republic of Ireland Under-19s yesterday and will be assessed by the club’s medical staff over the next 48 hours.

There has been some better news this week for Wanderers with the return of keeper Ben Alnwick to full training. The 32-year-old has missed the last 11 games, firstly with a back injury and then with an issue with his hip flexor.