Bolton Wanderers could be without a number of key players for their clash against Peterborough United this Saturday, with Dion Charles already revealed to be a major doubt for this weekend’s match, according to the Peterborough Telegraph.
This will be a boost to a Posh side who have a terrible record away at Bolton, losing their last three when travelling up to Greater Manchester to play the Trotters.
The last encounter between the two sides also makes for grim reading if you’re a Peterborough United supporter, Bolton running away as 5-0 victors on the day with star striker Dion Charles scoring a hat-trick.
However, if rumours are to be believed, it looks as if Charles – who has six goals already this campaign in all competitions- will be absent owing to injury for Ian Evatt’s men when Darren Ferguson’s Posh come to the Toughsheet Community Stadium this Saturday.
Inconsistent Form At Posh
Peterborough United were always going to be nursing a hangover coming into this brand new League One season, the crushing blow of losing the playoff semi-finals last season in the fashion they did still lingering over proceedings – Sheffield Wednesday mounting an unprecedented comeback at Hillsborough to go through.
Still, Darren Ferguson’s men started the campaign positively with three wins from their opening three matches. Those wins included picking up three points from tough matches against Barnsley and Reading, the win over Barnsley standing out as Posh cruised past the Tykes at Oakwell to win 3-1.
Since that victory however, it’s unravelled. Losing away to arch rivals Northampton Town started a slump in form, a slump that saw Derby County and Portsmouth score seven goals combined in the games to follow as both sides won 4-2 and 3-1 respectively.
A draw and a win have followed, with the win coming against Cheltenham Town who remain incredibly goalless after eight matches played.
Everyone connected to Peterborough United will just hope that they can conjure up some confidence for their trip to Bolton, especially with the news of injuries affecting the heavily fancied Wanderers on the weekend.
Selection Issues For Bolton
Dion Charles is just one of many players expected to be ruled out for the game on Saturday from a Trotters perspective, with the likes of Joel Coleman, Carlos Mendes Gomes, Paris Maghoma and George Johnston all out injured.
On top of that, Eoin Toal will definitely be missing from this clash versus Posh for Bolton.
The Northern Irish defender is suspended after picking up a late red card away at Reading last time out, Bolton losing that encounter 2-1.
Ian Evatt, when speaking to the Bolton News, opened up about the ever growing injury list at the football club.
He said: “It has been a rough week in terms of injuries, we have been hammered, in fact.
I don’t believe any squad of players in this division could cope with the amount of injuries we have had, and there have been more in the last few days.”
Evatt also commented on the possibility of Charles starting versus Posh, the former Accrington’s man availability ‘up in the air’.
He said: “Dion is very much up in the air. We know the joint isn’t damaged, which is probably the most positive bit of news, but we know there is damage to the ligaments that hold the joint in place.
The result of the scan was positive but there is still pain, there is still damage. We will have to take that right up to Saturday but it is a big call and it has definitely been a rough spell.”
Writer’s View
Preparation from a Bolton perspective ahead of Darren Ferguson’s Posh travelling to the Toughsheet Community Stadium has been disturbed, injuries galore is the last thing they would have wanted after losing unexpectedly to Reading.
On the other hand, Posh will hope that the threadbare squad at Ian Evatt’s disposal means they can pull off a victory at the weekend versus an opponent they often lose to.
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