Blow for Phil Parkinson as Bolton Wanderers' Mark Howard ruled out for three months

The goalkeeper suffered the injury 10 minutes into the 1-0 defeat at London Road but the Whites were forced into a waiting game while the swelling died down.

However, the results make for lousy reading for Phil Parkinson who, after the highs of October and the manager-of-the-month award, would probably like to start November all over again.

“It was an innocuous looking challenge on Mark,” he said. “But the scan shows we will miss him for around 10 to 12 weeks.

“To lose someone of his quality is is a blow for us, but it is also an opportunity for Ben Alnwick to stake his claim for a place in the team.

“He is a very good, very capable keeper at this level.”

There is also a doubt about the fitness of Sammy Ameobi, who signalled to the dugout he needed to be replaced and limped down the tunnel at London Road five minutes from time.

However, Parkinson suggested the striker was complaining of some stiffness but is expected to be in contention for a place in the team to face Millwall this weekend.

“There was some tightness with Sammy, he was experiencing a little stiffness but we will continue to assess him this week,” added the manager.

Parkinson was also quick to dismiss talk of promotion becoming the expectancy, rather than simply the club’s sole aim this term and that, if nothing else, the latest outing illustrates Wanderers have no entitlement when it comes to collecting points from their rivals.

“I’m always trying to guard against it. When you have been second in the league for a while people naturally start saying you’re going up.

“But I need to keep focus on each game. Peterborough are a team who believe they should be in the top six and we’ve got another one coming up in Millwall.

“No-one has the divine right and we didn’t play as well as we can at the weekend but we have to change that.

“We’ll have a think about why we didn’t play that well over the next couple of days and then rectify it.”