Wanderers might require inspiration from an unexpected source if they are to reach the international break in serious contention for an automatic promotion spot.

With Victor Adeboyejo, Dion Charles, Carlos Mendes Gomes and Dan Nlundulu all unavailable, Ian Evatt’s stock of strikers is being pushed to its limits for upcoming games against Oxford United and Derby County.

The Bolton boss complained at the weekend that his squad had been “crucified” by injuries in the past few months but is unlikely to be lent a sympathetic ear from a fanbase which demands success and a return to Championship football.

Somewhat ironically, Wanderers had splashed out £750,000 on Aaron Collins from Bristol Rovers as an insurance policy towards their top two push.

Chief executive Neil Hart had said the transfer – the largest of Evatt’s tenure – was a “risk worth taking” and given the cursed run of luck that the club’s forward line has suffered in the two months thereafter, it is a good job that the money was found.

Collins may not have settled instantly, his move north meant living out of hotels until a permanent house could be bought, and transitioning to a more technical and intricate tactical approach at his new club has not been without its issues, but there have been encouraging signs since he scored his first goal for Bolton against Cambridge.

The Welshman seems to possess the necessary charisma and star quality needed for a striker with top billing, so Tuesday night’s televised home game against Oxford United might well be the ideal stage for him to truly announce himself on the Toughsheet Stadium.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was called upon just a few minutes into Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Exeter City when Adeboyejo pulled up with a hamstring problem and will need no reminder that he did not settle effectively in the game.

The cerebral and contemplative Icelander remains hugely popular with the Bolton fans, and there would be few more deserving sorts to score the goals that bring the club success.

Life has, at times, been harsh for Bodvarsson in Lancashire. Injuries have often cut him down in his best spells of form and even when fully fit there has been a barrier preventing him from getting regular starts, notably the scoring form of Charles and Adeboyejo.

If Saturday caught Bodvarsson cold, then the next couple of games simply cannot. Nobody wants to be a matchwinner for Bolton quite like the former Wolves and Reading man, and this could be his chance.

Of the trio of first team attackers who are available, Cameron Jerome is possibly in the best form of the lot.

He is still waiting for a first Bolton league goal but 15 months into an 18-month deal the 37-year-old is finally starting to win over some of his doubters with his impact on games from the bench.

Jerome has become a serious influence behind the scenes for Wanderers and speaks knowledgeably and warmly about the game, his passion still there nearly two decades after his professional debut.

Wanderers have had some unlikely heroes in the past – Aaron Wilbraham’s relegation-dodging goal against Nottingham Forest, Julian Darby’s makeshift striker stint after Andy Walker’s injury in 1993, even Gavin McCann and Middlesbrough in the great Premier League escape of 2008. But should Jerome play a significant goalscoring part in this run-in, it might just top the lot.

Wanderers can count themselves unfortunate. Even aside from the front two, they have had to cope without George Johnston, Nathan Baxter, Caleb Taylor, Ricardo Santos, Randell Williams, Will Forrester and Gethin Jones for one reason or another since January.

They still possess resources that would be the envy of many a League One manager, however, so wallowing in that misfortune simply won’t wash on the terraces.

Evatt and his team are required, expected, to fight, and if they can get to the international break within touching distance of the top two, the manager has already talked excitedly about bringing his squad back on to the training ground and planning for the final push.

In the manager’s own words: “We have got what we have got.”

Wanderers won’t be diving into the transfer market to sign free transfers at this late stage of the game - but might have to get creative, think outside the box, to wait for a moment of good fortune to balance out all the bad. The opportunity is still there for them to take.