Bolton Wanderers will be without the services of striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and midfielder George Thomason owing to injuries for the trip to Shrewsbury Town.
Bodvarsson came off early in the second half of last week's draw for the Whites at home against Bristol Rovers. He was taken off with suspected concussion and what has turned out to be a broken nose.
The Iceland international striker is poised to have an operation early next week, as part of a nasal passage is blocked by the break. It means he will be out of action until early next week.
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Ian Evatt said: “It’s quite a nasty break. He needs an operation and he’ll have to have that on Monday. Basically where it’s broke and how seriously it is, it is blocking one of the nasal passages, so he’s struggling to breathe again.
“He’ll have an operation to reset that nose on Monday. We’re probably looking at three weeks on the sidelines.”
Wanderers will also be without midfielder Thomason for the foreseeable future. The youngster came off in the first half of the draw against the Gas with a knee injury, and Evatt expects to be without the midfielder for some time, but has backed the youngster to progress with his recovery with flying colours.
He said: “He dislocated his kneecap but the cap – the patella – went straight back in. The ligament which keeps the patella in place has quite a significant tear. We don’t know yet whether it needs surgically repairing yet but either way it will be a significant spell on the side-lines.
“He played quite a bit towards the end of the promotion season but this was really his breakout year. He has really become a leader on the pitch.
“These things happen, they come to test you at any given time. George is sad, upset, but he has to now focus on his rehab, supporting his team-mates, and he will be back bigger and stronger. I think he is a fantastic young man, these things are never easy, but he will be fine.
“If I was to nail down one player who would dedicate his life to the game 24-seven, or to doing his rehab to the letter it would be him. I have no doubts about that."
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