IAN Evatt insists that Jon Dadi Bodvarsson will soon get his opportunity to shine at Wanderers.

The Icelandic striker has started just two EFL Trophy games for the Whites this season – but recent encouraging displays off the bench have prompted calls for him to be brought back into the side in League One.

Fan-favourite Bodvarsson missed the final few months of last season with an ankle injury and after signing a new one-year deal in the summer hoped to kickstart his career with Bolton.

Though it has been a frustrating start for the former Reading and Wolves man, Evatt maintains that he still has a big part to play as he prepares to welcome Carlisle United to the Toughsheet Stadium for the last game before the international break.

“Jon is very much in our thoughts,” he told the Bolton News. “He is a very important player for us.

“The season is long, it is only October, it runs to May, and I believe he is going to play a huge part for us this season.

“I haven’t lost any faith or belief in Jon, there is nothing else, there is no agenda, it is just about getting him fit, ready and firing, then when he gets his opportunity to get into the team he needs to make sure he stays in it.”

Victor Adeboyejo could come back into the team against Carlisle to renew a partnership that had been as profitable as any other in League One before he picked up a minor knee injury in training a week ago.

Dan Nlundulu started both games alongside Dion Charles in his absence – but Evatt’s decision to use Jerome ahead of Bodvarsson after an hour of the 3-2 win against Stevenage left some fans asking why.

Jerome recovered after conceding a penalty and ended up playing alongside Bodvarsson in the last 10 minutes, forging an effective partnership to see out the game.

Evatt explained: “The three strikers who haven’t been starting games – Jon, Cameron and Dan – all offer something different. And on Saturday at Port Vale, Jon was first sub, first change of the centre-forwards, and he played 35-40 minutes at a high intensity – and he is feeling his way back in.

“On Tuesday night we felt like because Stevenage were so aggressive and their press so intense, that the space was down the side of the centre-backs. Now that isn’t necessarily Jon’s biggest strength, so we decided to use Cameron first on that occasion to run down the channels.

“Now, things happen in football, and in hindsight maybe it was Jon too? When they both got together towards the end of the game they won important headers and duels and they held the ball up really well.”

Regardless of the debate on which is his strongest front two, Evatt says the application of his strikers has been encouraging.

He added: “This is very much a squad game, it is not always about the 11 that start.

“The lads who are starting on the bench – the finishers – are coming on and giving their absolute all. There is no selfishness, they are in it together as a group.

“I keep harping on about how good the harmony is in this squad, but it is great, and it has to stay that way.

“We are going to have challenges, we are going to have rough times and we are going to have bad results from time to time but in those times that togetherness brings you back to where you want and need to be.”