Ian Evatt believes the 'real' Ricardo Santos is now back for Bolton Wanderers after building up a head of steam in pre-season and overcoming an injury.
Santos, 27, has become a key player at the Whites since joining the club in the summer of 2020. He became the club's captain last October and has played 91 times for Evatt's team in that time.
He put pen to paper on a new three-year contract with the club earlier this summer. He is gearing up for his third campaign with the club and second in a row in League One.
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Santos missed the last five games of last season owing to a hamstring injury picked up in the home draw against Portsmouth. It curtailed his last campaign early, but he has returned to action in pre-season.
Wanderers have played five matches so far in their preparations for the 2022/23 League One season. Wins against Longridge Town and Chorley were followed up with a draw against Stockport County and a narrow defeat to Wigan Athletic.
On Tuesday afternoon against Championship side Watford behind closed doors at the Hornets' London Colney training ground, the Whites went ahead thanks to Kieran Lee's early strike, which Dapo Afolayan added to before the break with a sublime finish to double Bolton's advantage. It is Bolton's third victory of pre-season and a very encouraging performance against Championship opposition and a 2-0 victory.
Santos skippered the side in the middle of the back three and was among several players who hugely impressed in the win over the Hornets. He is now back to full fitness.
After the clash, it was suggested to Evatt that Santos had not quite the heights anticipated of him so far this pre-season. But Evatt explained that his captain needed some time to build some momentum after an injury at the back end of last season and the Bolton boss is in no doubt that the defender is now back to his best, especially after his performance against Watford.
He said: “Rico’s a big guy, he’s six foot five, and you have to give him some time to get some momentum and the reason why he’s been playing more consistently the back end of pre-season is to get him in to a rhythm and we’re starting to see the fruits of that rhythm now.
“His fitness is excellent, his base fitness is excellent. We also have to remember that he missed the last part of last season so he’s playing catchup a little bit with everyone else, so give him some leeway! We’ve seen the real Rico today and I thought he was outstanding.
"It’s developing (his vocal ability) all the time, it really is, and Rico is a fantastic player and a fantastic person and we’ve got some really good people now in the dressing room."
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