Bolton boss Owen Coyle has three defenders back in contention for the Barclays Premier League clash with Wolves at the Reebok Stadium. Coyle indicated after the 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Boxing Day that he would make some changes to his struggling side and the Scot will be able to call on Sam Ricketts - who returned to the squad in that game as an unused substitute after a lengthy spell out with an Achilles injury - as well as Gretar Steinsson and Joe Riley, recently sidelined by illness and a hamstring problem respectively.
Midfielder Darren Pratley is a doubt for the crunch New Year's Eve encounter having picked up a virus, while it remains to be seen whether or not Gary Cahill will play after Coyle confirmed a fee for the centre-back had been agreed with Chelsea.
"It is hypothetical, but if it was (his last game for Bolton), I think Gary would like to go out on a high," Coyle said.
"The bottom line is Gary has to be ready to give as big a performance as he always does for his team-mates, for the football club and for the supporters who have been magnificent for him - and that has got to be the focus for everyone."
Wolves midfielder Nenad Milijas will start a three-match ban for his sending-off against Arsenal. Milijas, whose appeal against the red card was rejected by the Football Association, could be replaced by Dave Edwards if he has shaken off the illness which ruled him out of the 1-1 draw with the Gunners. Full-back Ronald Zubar is a major doubt with the knee injury suffered against at the Emirates Stadium and likely to be replaced by Richard Stearman.
Skipper Roger Johnson has admitted being axed from the side earlier this month was the worst moment of his career. Central defender Johnson made the £5million move from Birmingham to Molineux during the summer and was instantly made captain by manager Mick McCarthy in place of Karl Henry. But he struggled to reproduce the form shown with Blues and was dropped for the 2-1 home win over Sunderland at the beginning of December and replaced by veteran Jody Craddock.
Johnson said: "Being left out of the team was the worst moment of my career to date. "Being left out through not playing well enough had never happened to me before. "It hit home big time. I certainly don't want that feeling again. I'll be doing whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Bolton V Wolverhampton - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Source: PA
