WANDERERS will check on Eoin Toal’s condition this morning before making plans to reshuffle their defence for Burton Albion.
The Northern Ireland international was taken to hospital as a precaution on Tuesday night after a clash of heads with Bulgarian forward Martin Minchev, with reports at the time suggesting he has suffered a concussion.
Bolton will bring him back to Lostock this morning to run their own assessments but Ian Evatt is understood to be considering his options for Saturday’s game, with the possibility of pushing Gethin Jones or even Will Forrester back into the team ahead of schedule.
Jones, who can play centrally or as a right wing-back, has not played a competitive game since the play-off final against Oxford United in May.
The Australia international was not used in the B Team game at Mansfield in midweek but is now an option after returning to full training last week.
Specialist centre-half Forrester is also back involved following an operation on his toe, which was the result of a slip on a flight of stairs. His last competitive game was against Shrewsbury Town back in April.
Chris Forino is still a few weeks off a return following an operation on his hamstring and it has not yet been revealed whether wing-back Jordi Osei-Tutu is back in training following a calf tear sustained in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy at Barrow at the start of September, with the six-week estimate initially given by medics now up.
Dion Charles played 74 minutes of Northern Ireland’s win against Bulgaria and claimed an assist, while Josh Sheehan did the full 90 minutes in a man-of-the-match performance for Wales against Montenegro.
Luke Southwood (Northern Ireland) and Szabi Schön (Hungary) were unused substitutes during the international break.
Wanderers were hopeful that goalkeeper Nathan Baxter would be recovered from a muscle strain in time to feature against Burton but will have Southwood on standby and Luke Hutchinson remains with the club for the time being, with Joel Coleman still unavailable.
Carlos Mendes Gomes is now training again after several months out recovering from an Achilles operation but will be gradually phased back into regular football, and Scott Arfield should be in the squad on Saturday after being rested for the Trophy clash against Aston Villa’s Under-21s.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel