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Kyle Dempsey could be out of action until the end of the year after scans revealed ligament damage on an injured ankle.
Ian Evatt has confirmed that his midfielder is unlikely to feature during December after limping out of the Papa Johns Trophy win against Barrow last Tuesday.
Dempsey has had some wretched luck with injuries since signing from Gillingham in January but looked to be on his way back to top form after receiving a controversial red card at Cambridge United.
He returned to the team in last week’s trophy tie but has now been challenged to get himself ready again for the New Year.
“He’s got a grade tear of an ankle ligament which is moderate and basically means about four weeks out, so that’s what we’re looking at,” he told The Bolton News.
“Obviously he’s a bit down in the dumps and mentally, this can be really challenging because he knows he has a lot to give. I was really pleased with the performance at Cambridge and then what happened after that, we don’t need to speak about again.
“Football always asks questions and throws challenges at you and it’s about how you respond that will really define you as a footballer, character and person and I have no doubt Kyle’s response will be fantastic. But, for now, his head is down and he’s focusing on getting himself fit.
“I think the ankle already is making significant progress so it may not be as long as the four weeks, but we’ll keep monitoring that as we go and hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
Evatt says he has no other new injuries in the squad for Friday night’s game against Bristol Rovers, with a sickness bug now fully cleared up from Lostock.
“The illness seems to have disappeared and vanished now so the players are fit healthy and ready to go,” he said. “It’s just Lloyd Isgrove who is the only one unavailable. Will Aimson was back in full training today so he’s back in contention, but probably not ready to be involved on Saturday.”
Aimson has not featured since October 18 in the Papa Johns Trophy win against Leeds United Under-21s but Evatt says he is still a couple of weeks away from being considered for a first team return despite recovering from a hamstring injury.
“He needs more training time but he’s back amongst the group,” he added.
Isgrove has not featured since October 22 at Accrington but Evatt hopes the winger will also be back in full training by the middle of December.
“He’s really close, maybe another week behind Will, so not too far,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wanderers have confirmed they will play Plymouth Argyle on Saturday January 7 (3pm) - a game moved because of potential international call-ups in March - and Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday, January 24 (7.45pm).
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