Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt has revealed that the injury suffered by Dion Charles on Tuesday night is not expected to be a major issue.
Charles was forced off in the 58th minute with an injury but would leave the pitch under his own accord. Nonetheless it was a slight concern for both the Bolton coaching staff and fans alike with their top scorer unable to continue.
Despite his absence for the majority of the second half, the Wanderers would still manage to get through the game, running out as 2-1 winners. They were in control though, with a 98th minute Luke Leahy penalty for Wycombe being merely a consolation.
As a result, Bolton stay third in the league but more importantly do not lose any ground on the two teams, Portsmouth and Derby County above them. Although they sit seven points off the current table-toppers Portsmouth, Evatt’s side do still have three games in hand.
Now unbeaten in their last five in League One, which has brought three wins during that spell, the club will be confident that they can close the gap to the top two.
Having Charles fully fit will greatly increase those chances and the Northern Ireland international has been pivotal to Bolton’s success this season, with 17 goals across all competitions.
As much as it was a concern that he did have to leave the field of play on Tuesday night, and more will be known in the coming days, manager Ian Evatt has at least brought some positivity stating that he doesn’t believe the injury is a major one.
Speaking after the win over Northampton on Tuesday night to The Bolton News, Evatt spoke about the knock suffered by Charles.
“Dion felt his MCL in the second half with that block tackle but it looks like it has settled pretty quickly, so that is good news, positive news.”
“We won’t know the extent until the morning but we are quite comfortable that he will be Ok.”
For Bolton to have the best of automatic promotion this season, it is paramount that Charles is fully fit as his goals have been instrumental to the club’s current league position. They welcome a struggling Charlton Athletic to the Toughsheet Community Stadium on Saturday, where they’ll be confident of victory even if Charles is absent.
Writer’s View
Although it is too early to make a judgement on the extent of the injury, Evatt’s words after the game do come as a positive and Charles may feature in the game against Charlton on Saturday. That being said it is highly unlikely that the manager will want to risk anything at this point in the season which could lead to a short spell on the sidelines for the striker.
It was a huge three points for Bolton on Tuesday night which prevented them losing any ground in the title race. They’ve shown that they can find goals from other sources than just Charles which will give them confidence going into the match against Charlton.
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