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Kieran Lee could be out of commission for weeks at Wanderers as he struggles to overcome Covid.
Ian Evatt confirmed that both Lee and MJ Williams were absent from the 2-1 defeat at Rotherham United because they were self-isolating.
But whereas Williams has managed to avoid the worst of the virus, former Sheffield Wednesday man Lee has not been so lucky.
“They’ve both got Covid,” Evatt said. “MJ is symptom-free and he has had his first day of testing negative today, so hopefully that’ll happen again tomorrow when he can be back in on Monday.
“Kieran is still symptomatic and quite poorly.”
Evatt praised the way his patched-up team went about their business at Rotherham, not least in midfield, where striker Nathan Delfouneso and defender George Johnston showed they had more than one string to their bow.
“We’ve had a midfield three of a centre back, a young player in George Thomason and a centre forward, so again they have all done magnificently.
“Credit to them, credit to the boys and I thought the fans with the way they backed the players was absolutely brilliant.
“I can’t explain the effort that took the players to perform like that with what they have been through as a group. It’s amazing. We’re just sorry we didn’t get a point which we probably deserved.”
Evatt was booked in the first half and then warned again by referee Geoff Eltringham after complaining his side should have been awarded a free kick when Dapo Afolayan was seemingly brought down on the edge of the area.
“It is 100 per cent a foul and arguably a red card because he was through on goal,” argued the Bolton boss. “I don’t see how it is not a foul, Dapo got to the ball first.
“It is not running away from him, it is running towards the goal, and just no free kick.
“The description I was given was ‘yes, your player got there first, but there was football contact’.
“I don’t know what football contact is when you are running through on goal. It’s a centre half wiping out my forward.
“It’s frustrating and my frustration boils over and then after that, we kick the ball out of play and don’t get it back and that was a tough and rough five minutes.
“But it galvanized us a little bit and I’m delighted with the response after going behind and mostly delighted with what we did.”
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