EMILE Heskey could take a giant step towards securing a contract with Wanderers on Monday night when he plays for the development squad.

The former Liverpool and England striker is set to play for the Under-21s in their Premier League Cup game against Reading at Leyland.

Neil Lennon insists he will not make a snap decision on the 36-year-old despite mounting injury problems up front.

But the Wanderers boss has already instructed the club to look into obtaining the player’s registration from the Australian FA to avoid the delay that prevented Eidur Gudjohnsen from making his debut at Reading a fortnight ago.

“The injuries don't really affect anything,” he told The Bolton News. “You can't rush these things and he's got a bit of work to do to get to the level we'd like him to be at.

“There's a game on Monday and he may profit from playing in that. If we can get the okay to do that, we're going to work him hard in training and get him up to speed.

“Eventually we'll have to get his registration from Australia. You know how long it took with Eidur and it may take longer with that.”