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Jan Kirchhoff is back in contention for a first team spot – but has been warned by Phil Parkinson competition for his place is high.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder returned to training this week after a minor hamstring complaint caused him to miss the 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Fans are eager to see more of the 27-year-old, who has signed a deal until the end of this season after encouraging performances against Preston and Reading.
Yet Parkinson can offer no guarantees to the German star that he will come straight back into the line-up against Leeds United at Elland Road on Good Friday.
“Jan has played one, came on as a sub in another, and he’s made a good contribution so far,” said the Bolton boss. “But he knows and we’re also conscious that there is competition for that place. Derik Osede and Karl Henry have done well in there and Josh Vela came on and played very well against Aston Villa, so we have got some good options in the middle of the park.
“The more competition we get, the higher the bar gets raised in training and that’s what we are looking for in this last batch of games.”
Kirchhoff missed 16 months of football with a serious knee injury sustained in the Premier League with Sunderland before returning earlier this month with the Whites.
Parkinson has played down the significance of the midfielder’s absence last weekend, insisting he has a role to play in the run-in.
“Maybe if Villa was the last game of the season he probably would have played but we made the decision we’d give him that extra break, and make sure he was ready for after the Easter period because we’ll need him, I’m sure,” he said.
Chinedu Obasi, the Nigerian striker also given a short-term deal in the last few weeks, was also conspicuous by his absence in the development squad’s win in Cardiff on Monday night.
The former Schalke striker had been gaining match fitness with David Lee’s side but is now nearing first team contention.
“We felt he’d benefit more from a week’s training,” Parkinson said. “We have got to plan carefully what we want to do with him, I don’t want to get him injured.
“He is definitely making progress and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll get him closer.”
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The former Bayern Munich midfielder returned to training this week after a minor hamstring complaint caused him to miss the 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Fans are eager to see more of the 27-year-old, who has signed a deal until the end of this season after encouraging performances against Preston and Reading.
Yet Parkinson can offer no guarantees to the German star that he will come straight back into the line-up against Leeds United at Elland Road on Good Friday.
“Jan has played one, came on as a sub in another, and he’s made a good contribution so far,” said the Bolton boss. “But he knows and we’re also conscious that there is competition for that place. Derik Osede and Karl Henry have done well in there and Josh Vela came on and played very well against Aston Villa, so we have got some good options in the middle of the park.
“The more competition we get, the higher the bar gets raised in training and that’s what we are looking for in this last batch of games.”
Kirchhoff missed 16 months of football with a serious knee injury sustained in the Premier League with Sunderland before returning earlier this month with the Whites.
Parkinson has played down the significance of the midfielder’s absence last weekend, insisting he has a role to play in the run-in.
“Maybe if Villa was the last game of the season he probably would have played but we made the decision we’d give him that extra break, and make sure he was ready for after the Easter period because we’ll need him, I’m sure,” he said.
Chinedu Obasi, the Nigerian striker also given a short-term deal in the last few weeks, was also conspicuous by his absence in the development squad’s win in Cardiff on Monday night.
The former Schalke striker had been gaining match fitness with David Lee’s side but is now nearing first team contention.
“We felt he’d benefit more from a week’s training,” Parkinson said. “We have got to plan carefully what we want to do with him, I don’t want to get him injured.
“He is definitely making progress and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll get him closer.”
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