Bolton Wanderers' Eoin Toal on Sam Cosgrove tackle and injury return

The defender hadn’t featured since the memorable 4-0 win against Plymouth at Wembley following a reckless challenge by Sam Cosgrove.

Toal initially feared he would be facing a longer spell on the sidelines and is yet to receive an apology from Cosgrove.

But the 24-year-old is just glad to be back on the pitch ahead of the upcoming play-off semi-final against either Barnsley or Sheffield Wednesday.

“It has been brilliant,” he said. “All the physio staff have been brilliant and I got back probably earlier than I expected.

“It was a horrific challenge and I thought I would be out for longer. But I am back now and really looking forward to the next few games.”

When asked if he had experienced any similar challenges in his career, Toal added: “No, especially in a match of that stature.

“But at the end of the day, I just wanted to win that game and we won it comfortably. That’s football sometimes, you get injured.

“Time has passed and I have come back, got minutes under my belt and I am feeling good.”

It was a day for the Bolton squad to remember at Wembley, and the defender did his best to join in with the celebrations despite sporting a protective boot.

“I tried to get back out there and join in the celebrations,” he grinned. “It was a brilliant day, a great day for the club.

“(The injury) was just a bit of a dampener, but that is football and these things can happen. We were all glad as a team that we got the result.”

Despite the excitement of a play-off tie looming, Toal refuses to look past Sunday’s trip to Bristol Rovers.

“It would be good for us to go into the play-offs with a win. For myself, it will be good to get more sharpness and more match fitness,” he explained.

“We will go there and try to win, give it our best shot. Then we will see who we are playing in the play-offs.

“But we are just focusing on ourselves really and I am glad we have cemented that play-off spot before the final game of the season.”