New signing Dan Nlundulu is ready to step into the action for Wanderers, according to boss Ian Evatt.

The forward joined on loan Premier League club Southampton after spending the first half of the season at Cheltenham.

Nlundulu wasn’t eligible to play against Portsmouth in the Papa Johns Trophy on Tuesday night but could make his debut tomorrow afternoon.

The former England youth international has scored five goals in 27 appearances for the Robins since the start of the campaign.

He also made several appearances in the Premier League for Southampton during the 2020/21 season, coming up against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

“Dan is available for selection. He is ready to play,” said the Bolton boss.

“You can actually see that he has been playing regular football with his sharpness in training, which is really encouraging. We are looking forward to working with him.”

Wanderers might have come out on top against Pompey in midweek, but Evatt believes they are capable of even more this weekend.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson got the decisive goal as the Whites booked their place in the Papa Johns Trophy semi-final.

But Evatt expects a different challenge in the league and wants to see his side build on their recent performances.

“It is different again,” he said. “I think that is pretty much their group, what we saw (on Tuesday night).

“I do think there will probably be two or three changes, (Colby) Bishop will come in at the top end of the pitch.

“I think second half we have them a bit of sugar, we weren’t quite our usual selves and gave them a little bit of momentum and pressure. They will probably gain some confidence from that, but we still won the game.

“We know the things we got wrong that night even though we won, so there is improvement to come there. We are looking to go again on Saturday and hopefully get three points.”

The Whites will also learn their opponent for the semi-final tomorrow afternoon, and the Bolton boss will have one eye on the draw.

“It will be great for me because I will be the only one able to watch the draw. The others will be out warming up,” he laughed.

“We will have one eye on the draw for certain, hoping for another home draw which I believe benefits us. Then we have got business to take care of in the league.

“We are in good form, we are having good results. We want to win more consistently but keep up that hard-to-beat nature that we have developed. We are looking forward to another big performance on Saturday.”