IAN Evatt refuses to sulk over Wanderers’ mounting injury issues and stands by his view that the squad is robust enough to sustain their promotion chase.

With several players side-lined and major concerns over top scorer Dion Charles, the Bolton boss could be down to his last 18 players with first team experience for this weekend’s visit of Peterborough United.

New signings Carlos Mendes Gomes, Paris Maghoma and Zac Ashworth have joined a lengthy queue for the treatment room, which is unlikely to clear significantly before the international break next month.

Evatt has railed against suggestions that he should have legislated for such injury problems by buying more players in the transfer window.

Wanderers registered a squad of 18 senior and 21 Under-21 players with the EFL – which included those currently playing in the B Team.

The club added eight players in the summer and Evatt has stood by his recruitment decisions, arguing that some of his newer arrivals are still getting used to his training methods.

“We haven’t got unlimited funds to keep signing players,” he told The Bolton News. “We have a squad that we think is competitive, we have a budget which we think is competitive and we recruit to that budget.

“These things happen, and you will pick up injuries. Every club will deal with them at one stage or another during a season.

“What I will say is that the majority of the injuries we are getting are muscular, and when you look at the squad it is the newer ones who have picked up these problems.

“We had the same last season in January because of the intensity that we train, it is completely different to what they are used to and you have to get them up to speed.

“It is more physical than it is for other teams and other clubs and it is something we are looking at, trying to manage better. Fingers crossed we can get then all back as soon as possible because they are difference makers.”

Wanderers have recently drafted younger players like Luke Matheson, Nelson Khumbeni, Matt Tweedley and Luke Hutchinson into the first team training group, and Evatt is optimistic that they can make the step up, if required.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Dan Nlundulu and Cameron Jerome will all be vying for a spot up front if Charles is unable to feature because of a shoulder injury sustained in Saturday’s defeat at Reading. Regardless of the line-up, Evatt wants to see his players be more ruthless in front of goal.

“We have got a couple of players on the fringes and that is what the B Team is for but obviously when everyone is available, we have a very good squad,” he said.

“We are a few men down at the moment, but that isn’t the reason we lost the game (at Reading), we lost that one because we didn’t take our chances. If you are going to miss those chances, especially away from home, then you are only a moment away from losing the game.”

Meanwhile, Wanderers have confirmed the date of their rescheduled away game against Shrewsbury Town.

Ian Evatt’s side will now travel to the Croud Meadow Stadum on November 7 (7.45pm kick-off).

The original game was due to be played on September 9 but was postponed because of international call-ups.