Who will be fit and available for Wanderers as pre-season training starts?

ONLY two players will be missing from Wanderers’ quota when they report for first team duties on Tuesday.

Steven Schumacher has provided an early injury update, revealing that Will Forrester and Eoin Toal will be back in contention after missing the end of last season due to injuries.

Victor Adeboyejo and Kyle Dempsey will undoubtedly miss the start of the League One season, with the latter undergoing a knee surgery that will keep him out of action until September.

Otherwise, Chris Forino, Josh Sheehan, and Aaron Morley are all scheduled to fly to the first team’s warm weather training camp in Marbella, which should ensure their availability for the first official friendly against South African side Orlando Pirates.

Schumacher told The Bolton News: “Victor is obviously rehabilitating from a cruciate injury; we’ll probably see him in October or November.

“Kyle Dempsey had another procedure during the summer and will be out for a few months, so they are the only two that are currently unavailable.

“Will Forrester and Eon Toal have enjoyed a well-deserved summer break. Toally played a lot of games the previous season and didn’t get much of a break from the playoffs into pre-season, so we’re hopeful he’ll be in better physical shape.

“We’ll strive to keep Chris Forino fit this year after he broke down during the preseason.

“Aaron Morley is OK after his injury at the end of the season he’s training, so we’re in a good position, we’re really strong, and the longer we can continue that, the better it’ll be.”
Schumacher wants to construct a stronger squad this season and has made core fitness a priority in his summer recruitment strategy.

He has thoroughly researched the injury histories of all of his targets, but he also intends to make his current squad more resilient after losing so much game time in his 18 games in command since February.

“It doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be available every week, but it provides a fair baseline. Then the training course for everyone must be properly designed. It is difficult to maintain 100% availability throughout the season, but the larger the proportion, the better your chances of winning games on Saturday.

“We want to maintain the group as fit and competitive as possible, therefore the training program must be well-designed, and proper pre-season preparation is critical. Now, there is a lot of pressure on the players to make sure they are in top shape when they return. We addressed this with them at the end of the season.

“The pre-seasons that I’ve always done with my teams are always rigorous and difficult, but they allow you the opportunity to carry that energy from the pre-season into the season. It’s not a heavier load in the preseason than it would be throughout the season, so we just have to make sure we get it right and listen to the players, the medical team, and do the best we can.”