WANDERERS were last night preparing for bad news on the condition of Dennis Politic after he was stretchered off in yesterday’s pre-season friendly at Loughborough.

Ian Evatt’s side were comfortably 6-0 to the good when the 20-year-old attacker crumpled to the ground, having chased down a home defender.

The player was taken back home for medical treatment and it is feared that he sustained ligament damage which would keep him out of action for several months.

Speaking after the game, Evatt said the club would give him all the backing he needed to make a full recovery once the full extent of the injury was known.

“We’re looking at the clock and there are 10 minutes to go and we’ve scored 16 goals so far, conceded none, and things are looking really rosy. We hadn’t picked up any injuries, really, and then this happens,” he told The Bolton News.

“This game – life in general – does come to challenge us sometimes and it can be how you deal with that adversity.

“Dennis has got to stay positive now. It looks like he will be on the side-lines for a long spell but I said to the players in the dressing room that if one of us is hurt, we all have to hurt. We have to rally round him now and give him the support he needs.

“I hope, of course, that the injury is not as serious as it seemed initially – but the most important thing is to make sure he gets the help he needs.”

Antoni Sarcevic, who wore the captain’s armband for the first hour of the game, said he had been impressed by Politic in the first few weeks of pre-season.

“When the gaffer pulled us to one side after the game he said ‘when one of us gets hurt, we all get hurt,’ and it feels like that,” he said. “He’s a young lad and he’s got a real enthusiasm for football, which is what I have seen in the first few weeks I have been with the lads.

“Dennis loves football and we’re devastated for him.

“Right now we don’t know the full extent but he has all of our blessings and we hope it isn’t a bad one.”

The friendly did become scrappy in its final quarter with a player from each side shown a yellow card for poor challenges.

Politic’s incident was not the result of a tackle, leaving Evatt fearing the worst.

“They are normally the worst ones, when there’s nobody in close proximity, and he had just gone to press the ball with the intensity we’re asking from him and that sort of thing can happen – a slight slip, and things can happen,” he said.

“In terms of the game, yes, there were a few niggly challenges towards the end. But I said to the players that we have to keep our discipline because when people react like that it normally means we’re winning.

“When you are keeping the ball and dominating for 90 minutes teams are going to get the hump. They are going to get nasty and try to do all they can to knock them off their own game.

“We need to maintain our belief and discipline to make sure we keep 11 on the pitch.”