MARK Davies has been challenged to return in better condition next season to lead Wanderers’ promotion charge.

Despite reported interest from Leicester and Swansea, Dougie Freedman insists he has no plans to cash in on one of his most marketable midfielders.

The Whites boss signed up Davies to an extended deal last year that keeps him at Bolton until 2017 and sees the 26-year-old as a key figure in his plans.

But he is keen for the former Wolves star to rid himself of the niggling injury problems that have kept him out of action in recent weeks.

Davies missed pre-season and the opening four months of the campaign recovering from cruciate ligament damage and has recently been sidelined for a month with groin problems.

“He needs to work on his condition,” Freedman told The Bolton News. “You need to be very conditioned to play in my kind of team.

“When Mark gets his condition to where I believe it should be then his quality should make him a huge asset.”

But Freedman scotched talk that he is actively looking to sell Davies in the summer – with tabloid reports suggesting Leicester and Swansea could pay £2-3million for his services.

“I’m not in any rush to sell Mark Davies at all,” he said. “But then there hasn’t been any calls asking me to buy him either.

“He signed a long deal with me last season because I knew what a talent he was, and he’s a big part of the team.”