IAN Evatt believes more can be done to stop lower league clubs picking up unnecessary injuries.

The Bolton boss has seen several players miss games because of soft tissue injuries – which has been a common theme up and down the land since the restart.

Many footballers who found themselves training alone during lockdown earlier this year then faced a truncated pre-season, which has caused physiological issues. Added to that, a more congested fixture list is also being affected by games postponed by coronavirus breakouts.

Premier League clubs have debated the return of five substitutions, which was used at the end of last season, to reduce the impact on players.

Leading figures such as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola have both said the decision to revert back to three subs per game is partly responsible for a spate of muscular injuries across the top flight.

Reports suggest that the matter has twice been put to a vote in the Premier League but on both occasions failed to gain the required number to put it into action.

Evatt believes an increase in substitutions would benefit Wanderers and help them ward off some avoidable injuries. But he also says rules in place for the Papa John’s Trophy are a hindrance to keeping his squad fit.

Wanderers take on Newcastle United’s Under-21s in a meaningless group game on Tuesday night, with Crewe and Shrewsbury already qualified from the competition.

But instead of making wholesale changes, Evatt will be forced to play a certain number of players who turned out against Salford City on Saturday.

“I think five subs would be more beneficial to us, definitely,” he said.

“I also think competitions like the one we’re playing in on Tuesday night don’t help when their rules state that you have to play five players who featured at the weekend. It’s crazy.

“It should be that we can balance the minutes throughout the squad and make sure we are not overscheduling players. We should be able to make as many changes as we want in every competition. We can’t and it doesn’t make much sense at all.

“Again, we’re not the only club. There are 72 others in the EFL all thinking the same thing and having to deal with the same thing. We can’t make excuses.”