Sammy Ameobi could be out for six weeks at Bolton Wandereres

The winger had turned awkwardly early in the game and tried to play on after treatment before eventually leaving field.

He hobbled out of the stadium wearing a protective boot and, says Phil Parkinson, his absence will be a significant blow as Bolton go into back-to-back away games at Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.

“He’s got damaged ankle ligaments, so that’s obviously a blow,” the manager said. “When teams sit in against you he’s the type of player who can unlock the door.”

Wanderers suffered a second successive home defeat as goals from Luke Freeman and Eberechi Eze put the visitors into a commanding lead, pegged back by sub Josh Magennis's free-kick with 20 minutes remaining.

Parkinson was unhappy his team had not created more chances having had the majority of possession.

"We played into their hands a bit," he said. "We needed the wide players making runs in behind them but that just didn't happen often enough.

"It's okay having lots of possession but sometimes more about what you do with it and we just didn't penetrate enough, which is a shame."

Wanderers paid tribute to their former owner Eddie Davies before kick-off, with a minute's applause and a floral tribute laid down by captain, David Wheater.

Parkinson was disappointed his team could not have marked the occasion with a positive result.

“He’d know more than anyone the ups and downs of football but it’s a shame we couldn’t produce at least a point,” he said. "We would have liked to mark the occasion with something.

“We have to move on now and concentrate on getting a better result from Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.”

Asked whether the events of last week had taken their toll on the squad, Parkinson added: “I don’t want to use that as an excuse. We were just not incisive enough with the ball. There was no lack of effort or energy, it was just that we had a lot of the ball and we didn’t use it productively enough.”