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Lloyd Isgrove could be handed a surprise start for Wanderers in Saturday’s crunch game at Accrington Stanley.
Sidelined for more than 10 months with successive hamstring injuries, the 29-year-old wide man made a successful return in the Papa Johns Trophy in midweek.
Now, with regular right wing-back Conor Bradley suspended, Ian Evatt confirmed that Isgrove will be in his thinking at the Crown Ground, where Bolton will be looking to win for the first time.
“Lloyd was excellent (against Leeds Under-21s) and I think he is suited to the way we play with wing-backs and that role,” he said. “Conor has been outstanding so far this season and really consistent. I don’t know how he’s managed to get five yellow cards and not make a tackle yet, but it happens.
“We are going to miss him on Saturday, no doubt, but it’s a chance for somebody else to step in.”
Isgrove had played for the B Team and played as a substitute in Wanderers’ previous Papa Johns Trophy group game against Tranmere Rovers but Tuesday night was his first league start since first tearing his hamstring against Doncaster Rovers in November last year.
Evatt is delighted to see both Isgrove and Josh Sheehan back available, and says the decision not to rush them back into regular football will pay off.
“It has been a long road back for Izzy but he’s been doing really well in training. He got back up to speed quite quickly. Him and Josh both missed significant periods last season and they are never easy to get going again and probably having the squad we do has enabled us to give them a bit of extra time.
“It is frustrating for those two at times because they want to be back involved ASAP, but we’ve been able to bring them on slowly and eventually they got fully up to speed.”
Evatt hopes a similarly patient policy will bring the best out of Liverpool wing-back Owen Beck, who came off the bench for the last half-hour of the win against Leeds.
The youngster started the season on loan with Portuguese club Famalicao before coming back to the UK to sign a deal with the Whites.
“When he first came from Portugal he wasn’t quite where we needed him to be physically and because we’ve got such a good squad, we were able to bring him on slowly,” Evatt explained after the game.
“I thought that was the best I have seen from him since he’s been here in the second half and hopefully he will progress from that.”
Evatt also had words of encouragement for two other players who came out of the shadows to help Bolton progress to the knockout stages.
“I thought Joel Dixon was excellent tonight, great to see him keep a clean sheet and Will Aimson, he let nobody down and he was fantastic with his defensive responsibility against Leeds who almost draw you into that man to battle and press and I thought we did that really well, especially second half.”
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