PHIL Parkinson may have to piece together a Wanderers side for their most important game of the season tomorrow night.

The Whites boss will be without right-back Mark Little, sent off in the 2-0 defeat at QPR, and midfielder Josh Vela, who left Loftus Road wearing a protective boot on an ankle injury, for the crunch clash with Sunderland.

But Parkinson also has concerns over a handful of others who played through two bruising games in the last six days – which could signal major changes for the visit of the struggling Black Cats.

“At the moment it’s trying to find a team which is ready to go again because we have several players who look like they are not going to make it,” he told The Bolton News.

“There are players like Darren Pratley, Aaron Wilbraham, Will Buckley, Craig Noone, Jon Flanagan who now come into the reckoning.”

Skipper Pratley travelled with the team to QPR but was not named in the squad following his return from a cracked fibula.

Target man Wilbraham (calf) and midfielders Buckley (hamstring) and Noone (knee) are also back in full training.

Liverpool loanee Flanagan was not in the travelling party in West London but could now get his opportunity with Little likely to get a three-match ban for his red card on Saturday.

Parkinson was unhappy with the performance of referee Scott Duncan and his officials but admitted Little’s touchline challenge on Massimo Luongo did warrant a sending off.

“I said to Mark he’s given the referee a decision to make by leaving the ground with two feet,” he said. “I can see why the ref gave a straight red for that one – had it been a QPR player then it would have been a yellow.

“You can’t afford lapses of discipline or moments of recklessness, especially when they have had a week to train and we’ve been on the road to Cardiff and on the road again here. To go to 10 v 11 was always going to be tough.”

Parkinson is confident, however, that his players will respond in the right way and continue their encouraging home record.

“We have had knock-backs before and bounced back, so we have to be resilient,” he said. “We need the fans on Tuesday to get right behind the team. They did it here (at Cardiff), they travelled down and gave us great support and it’ll be a full-on atmosphere again at the Macron, where the lads enjoy playing.”