HARRY Brockbank could be out of action until the New Year at Wanderers.

The defender limped out of Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw against Mansfield Town and underwent a scan in hospital 48 hours later.

Ian Evatt gave an update after the FA Cup defeat to Crewe, indicating that Brockbank could be out of action for a couple of months.

“It’s not ideal and not good,” he said. “He’s got a split tear of his hamstring tendon. It looks like it’s going to be six to eight weeks.”

Brockbank’s injury comes at a time when the treatment room was beginning to clear for Wanderers.

Shaun Miller and Lloyd Isgrove both featured in the cup, while Eoin Doyle’s return has been pencilled in for this Friday’s game against Salford City.

Gethin Jones has also stepped up his training load and could return to contention ahead of schedule.

“I think I will have once we get players back fit and that’s the big positive – Miller, Isgrove, Doyle, Jones, they are all getting very close to full fitness and will make a big impact. Once they are back we’ll be a lot stronger,” Evatt said after the Crewe game.

“For now, the ones who are getting the opportunity must get up to standard. As I said on Tuesday, Delaney has been excellent, Santos is as good a centre-half as I have seen outside of the Championship – and that isn’t an exaggeration, I think he is that good – and Sarcevic is playing very well as well, even though he’s struggling with a back injury at the minute. If we can get the others up to that level we will be OK.

“I have seen glimpses of brilliance today in the two goals we scored, a couple of very good passing moves, but we conceded far too easily.”

Evatt has shifted his sights slightly in the last week, admitting that the job of turning Bolton into a promotion-worthy side would take longer than first anticipated. He remains convinced that his side will improve over time and underlined that he has not abandoned the target of League One football next season completely.

“The expectation from the fans is probably still there because of the size of the club this is but as I said in midweek we have to have some perspective. We can’t keep falling and then someone switch a switch and we’re suddenly the best team anyone has ever seen,” he said.

“We are in a massively transitional period at the moment where we are trying to settle down a new squad of players but we want results and we’re trying our best to get them.

“I am seeing flashes but we are just not doing it consistently enough. And on the back of that we haven’t had our best team, in my opinion, available all at once. Hopefully we are close to getting that.”