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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
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John McDougall

Bolton Wanderers injury concerns on Afolayan as Dempsey and Kachunga update emerges

Bolton Wanderers are managing Dapo Afolayan carefully as the attacker is carrying a groin injury while Elias Kachunga looks set to be available against Plymouth Argyle but Kyle Dempsey may miss out.

Afolayan is Bolton's top scorer this season with 13 goals in all competitions, 11 of which have come in League One.

Boss Ian Evatt says the attacker is playing with a groin injury at present and he will be assessed after the 1-1 draw against Morecambe to see if he will be in a fit enough state to play against the Green Army.

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers clarity on Wigan Athletic clash as Portsmouth League One question remains

Wanderers will have attacker Kachunga back fit to face Plymouth it seems after he has returned to training from a thigh problem which has kept him out since early January.

But midfielder Kyle Dempsey appears to be more likely to be back for the away clash against Crewe Alexandra later on this month than this Saturday's game versus the Devon side.

Evatt however has plenty of resources and competition in those areas of the pitch and was also pleased to see that midfielder MJ Williams escaped a yellow card against the Shrimps which would have been his 10th of the season and meant an automatic two-game suspension.

Evatt said: “He (Afolayan) is (an important player) and we’ll manage him as best we can. I think it became more and more sore tonight so we’ll have to see how that is for Saturday.

"It’s good that MJ has escaped the threshold for the yellow cards and it’s nice to see another manager (Derek Adams) booked instead of myself! We’ll regroup and debrief tomorrow and go again for Saturday.

“It’s competitive isn’t it and we’ve got some really good players. Kieran (Sadlier) is crying out for a start, you’ve got Kieran Lee to come back, Kacha’s going to be available for Saturday, so you've got some big players in those positions.

“They just have to be patient and when they get the chance, they have to take it, it’s as simple as that. We’ve got one or two niggles. Dapo’s carrying a bit of a groin injury, Kyle’s got a slight groin strain and he’ll probably be available for next week after the scan.

“It’s a highly competitive team. We’ve got some really good players and tonight we’re all a bit feeling sorry for ourselves and down in the dumps, but I think when you examine what we actually did, some of it was exceptional. It’s just frustrating that we didn’t seal the deal.”

Wanderers began the clash at the University of Bolton Stadium last night exceptionally well and could have been a few goals to the good by half-time.

Dion Charles missed a glorious chance and struck the crossbar with another effort, while Amadou Bakayoko saw an effort land wide.

But Cole Stockton gave the visitors the advantage after making the most of George Johnston's short pass to give the Shrimps the lead at the break.

Wanderers huffed and puffed after the break but got a stoppage time equaliser when Xavier Amaechi teed up fellow substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson to net late on and salvage a point.

Evatt was pleased that if his side did not want, at least they were able to pick up a point, as he hopes Charles can bounce back from his frustrations in front of goal in the past couple of games where clear cut chances have gone begging.

The Bolton boss said: "We need to rally round him and support him. He’s a big player for us and everyone can go through these spells and he’s missed some big opportunities but we’ll back him to take them in the big games. It’s the life of a striker really.

“More importantly for us, if we don’t win, we don’t lose and Morecambe are always compact, they’re always difficult to break down and even against that type of compactness and the low block, we still created so much, especially first half. If you get that first goal, especially early on, the game completely opens up and changes and that’s when we’ll be really dangerous.

"But not only that we shot ourselves in the foot by giving them a goal as well and that lifted their energy and spirit. It made it even more challenging for us but I’m delighted we got one in the end.”

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt sends League One play-off rivals Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday message

READ MORE: Jon Dadi Bodvarsson's 'relief' at Bolton fresh start as 'weight off shoulders' after Millwall

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