WANDERERS are breathing a sigh of relief at the news that injuries to Ethan Erhahon and Thierry Gale are not as bad as first feared.
Having steered clear of fitness problems in his squad for the first couple of months of the season, Steven Schumacher was hit by a double blow before the game at Burton with two first team regular facing an extended spell out of action.
Midfielder Ethan Erhahon sustained a thigh strain and winger Gale had reported an issue in his knee before the win against Peterborough United, which flared up again.
Thankfully, scans have given Bolton’s medical staff a better view of the issues and both players should be on course to return by next month.
Schumacher revealed that Erhahon has suffered a similar issue at his previous club Lincoln City.
“When Ethan came off the training pitch he looked a little concerned because he said it’s an injury he had before,” he said.
“When you have had those type of thigh strains you get an idea of what the severity is going to be, and he was a little bit worried about it.
“But once we got him scanned, it wasn't as bad as he feared. So that's good.
“It was going to be four to five weeks from when he did it. So that should put him in and around the middle of November to be back.
“Obviously now the plan is to follow the physio's instructions and the fitness staff’s instructions to get himself back on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Gale’s issue was arguably more serious, with whispers in the camp that a knee ligament issue could leave him side-lined until the New Year.
Schumacher admits the explosive wide man will be a miss for his side but feels that the scans showed a best-case scenario.
“His injury wasn’t a case of ‘oh, no, I’ve done something wrong’ it was something that came on more gradually for him,” he said.
“He had two impact collisions, one in training, one in the Peterborough game. And it just got worse. So, we had him scanned.
“But again, with ligament problems, it could have been much worse than what it was in the end, so we’ll get him back in about four weeks.”
Will Forrester is back in training and likely to feature for the B Team next week as he steps up his return to fitness. Kyle Dempsey also featured for the second string in a behind-closed-doors game this week, playing as a number 10, and could soon be back in contention for a first team spot.
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