ADAM Bogdan is back between the sticks for Wanderers and hoping his injury worries are now behind him.

The Hungary international missed a huge chunk of pre-season with a back problem and made his first appearance since April against Bury in the Capital One Cup a week ago when he also wore the captain’s armband.

His impressive performance suggested he was back in tip-top shape and after keeping his place against Nottingham Forest and again doing well, Bogdan is looking positively to the future.

But he knows he has to ensure he takes care of the back problem that dogged him all summer long.

He told The Bolton News: “From my perspective it’s really good.

“I played 120 minutes on Tuesday night, so right now I’m really tired but I’m happy. I think I have done okay in both games.

“Yes, it has been a frustrating summer – I haven’t been able to dive off any ships or boats!

“When I first found out I had a crack on my vertebrae I thought it wouldn’t be that serious, that it would heal quite quickly.

“It took a bit longer than I expected. It needed a lot of core work, building the muscles around it. It was a lot of long hours in the gym.

“I still have to take care of it, I’m not getting any younger.

“I’m 26, going to turn 27 soon – I know that sounds young but I’ve got to stay on top of things.

“I picked up a couple of injuries so I have to make sure my prehab and rehab are spot on, and that I do a bit more stuff in the gym before training.

“I was really overwhelmed to be captain against Bury.

“It was a really good feeling. It was a great honour. I’ve been here longest – that might be one of the reasons the manager asked me.

“I was really happy he chose me.”

Bogdan is likely to keep his place tonight as Middlesbrough visit the Macron Stadium.

Wanderers will hope it is third-time lucky as they look to register a first Championship win and banish the memories of last season’s winless opening two months.

Bogdan believes if they can mirror their display against Forest on Saturday, they have every chance of doing just that.

He added: “Overall I think it was a good performance (against Forest). It was a fair result in the end.

“It was a big improvement, especially after the first game.

“I thought we played strongly, tried our best and on a luckier day we might have nicked the game.

“At the moment we shouldn’t really be thinking about last season.

“We should only be thinking about playing like this against Middlesbrough.

“If we put in that kind of effort and drive then we’ll win games of football.”