Victor Adeboyejo left today’s 2-2 draw against Exeter City with a hamstring injury, and Ian Evatt confirmed after the game that Dion Charles had worsened a knee injury that was on the mend.
Goalkeeper Nathan Baxter is expected to return after next weekend’s game at Derby County, but the possibility of missing two of his key forwards has the Bolton manager cursing his luck.
“We are being absolutely crucified with injuries at the moment,” he went on to say. “Victor has hurt his hamstring, and Dion has had a reaction with his knee, so we don’t know how that will look moving ahead.
“We are definitely still waiting for Nathan. And it’s difficult to take.
“But all we can do is keep our heads down, regather, regroup and go again for the next game.”
Wanderers scrambled to save a point at St James Park with an 87th-minute header from Eoin Toal, but Derby County won comfortably at Bristol Rovers, dropping them to third.
Peterborough United gained distance with a win against Burton Albion, but Barnsley suffered a shocking 5-1 home defeat against Lincoln.
Given Bolton’s dominance at Exeter in the first half and final 15 minutes, their defensive lapses felt all the more catastrophic.
However, Evatt argues that no single player should be criticized.
“Individual mistakes happen, and I will never scold individual players; that is not how I do things or work, and I do not believe it is the responsibility of a manager to do so. This is very much a team effort, and when someone makes a mistake, it is up to the entire team to pick them up and pull them out of it. We didn’t, and the game ended 2-1, which is the responsibility of the entire team.
“It took us 20 minutes to find some equilibrium and an equaliser before pushing for the winner, but the three minutes after halftime were self-inflicted.
“When you don’t win, it feels like you’ve dropped two points. But we did not lose, which could be significant. We know it’ll be tight, and points have been dropped all over the place elsewhere.
“It’s on us. It is our obligation to earn the points required to move into the top two.”
