LUKE Southwood admits it has been a frustrating start to his time with Bolton Wanderers – but he is now eager to make up for lost time.

The goalkeeper signed this summer having fractured his fibula on the final day of last season playing for Cheltenham Town against Stevenage.

Wanderers were content to bring him aboard regardless of the injury, which meant an eight-week lay-off, and his early days with the club were limited to gym sessions and light training while others stepped up their preparations faster.

It was not the start Southwood would have picked for himself as he looks to challenge Nathan Baxter, Joel Coleman and Luke Hutchinson for a place in Ian Evatt’s plans but after getting his first 90 minutes against Stoke City on Tuesday night the 26-year-old was delighted to get lift-off at last.

“I’ve absolutely loved that,” he said after the final whistle. “It was the first injury I’d really had to go through in my career, so to tick that box and get back out there, I was really happy.

“I am really good to go now. To get 90 minutes under my belt, I’m buzzing.

“Coming in and being injured, it isn’t easy. You want to reach your levels as a goalie as quickly as possible, especially when you haven’t been playing and training and the lads have been doing it that bit longer.

“It was frustrating on that front, and you want to be at your very best when you go our there but it does take time as a goalie, the aim is just to work hard, grind my way through the week and make sure I am ready.”

Stoke dominated the first half and full deserved to be ahead through Million Manhoef’s neat finish at the interval.

Wanderers did improve as the game went on and felt a little aggrieved they did not avoid defeat in the end, but Southwood was able to take positives from the evening.

He said: “They were really good first half and obviously we could have been better. But then the reaction we had in the second half, I think we probably had the better of it.

“I think it was a good test of character for the lads because it was probably the first bit of adversity we have had in pre-season, and that is obviously going to be part of what’s ahead, it isn’t all going to be plain sailing. I think we are all fairly aware of that but it’s how we react.”

Wanderers have played three Championship sides so far in pre-season, beating West Brom and losing to both Middesbrough and Stoke, also claiming a win against non-league Chorley and an excellent draw against Serie A Fiorentina.

Pre-season was designed to challenge Evatt’s squad and they will finish out the summer with a trip to Port Vale on Saturday.

Asked how he felt preparations for the League One season were going, Southwood said: “I think the majority of results have been really positive, that was probably the first little dent in terms of the performance but I do think it will be a good test for the lads.

“There will be bad halves, bad spells in games and then it is all about the character to react and win when you are not necessarily playing well.

“I think it was a good bit of character to flip the game on its head in the second half. We didn’t get the result and the goal but the performance was much better.”

Ian Evatt voiced his frustration at the number of fouls which were allowed to rack up on Tuesday evening before referee Tom Kirk started to punish players with yellow cards.

Tempers also boiled over on the pitch, with one second-half challenge on Josh Sheehan sparking a melee involving all 22 players, including the Bolton goalkeeper.

“Absolutely, when you see someone going in like that you are bound to react,” he said, asked if the incident said anything of Wanderers’ own team spirit.

“Hopefully it doesn’t spill over too much but it’s part of the game, even though it is pre-season everyone cares and there is emotion out there.

“That aggression was probably something we were missing in the first half, but second half we showed plenty of it.”

Southwood says he has settled well since signing from Cheltenham and is looking forward to his future at the Toughsheet Stadium.

“It has been easy,” he said. “It is a great group of lads here and the staff are brilliant.

“It has been one of the easiest transitions I have had, whether that’s a loan or a permanent move.

“Nathan, Joel, Gillo and Luke as well, it is a great atmosphere every day. We are all sort of pushing each other and working hard but also as a goalie it can’t always be too serious, you have to have that banter with each other too. There is a great mix here, everyone is working hard and getting better with having Gillo around but we’re also having fun.”