Bolton Wanderers captain Ricardo Almeida Santos is poised to return this evening for the away clash against Fleetwood Town.
Santos was rested against the Cod Army in last week's Papa John's Trophy clash at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Alex Baptiste deputised on that occasion, but Santos is set to return to the Wanderers starting XI against the Fylde Coast side.
READ MORE: Full Bolton Wanderers injury list and expected return dates as MJ Williams boost emerges
And Ian Evatt is looking forward to having more options to call upon in the weeks to come, with the likes of MJ Williams and Harry Brockbank closing in on returns, for the busy second half of the campaign.
Evatt said: "We know we want to do more and achieve more and having more bodies available will help us. We’ve got a really busy month. It is a moving month in the EFL and we have to make sure that we are progressing up the table in the right direction and then giving ourselves something to fight for in the second half of the season.
“We need them back. We found a way in November. I thought it was quite a positive month after an awful October. I think we lost one league game to Wycombe and played really well in that game.
"Obviously the defeat in extra time to Stockport was not good enough but other than that I think it’s been quite positive considering what we’ve had to deal with injury-wise. Getting bodies back is important and it’s always the moving month, so to speak.
"We need to get ourselves in a position to challenge for the second half of the season. I think there’s a lot to look forward to in the second half of the season, some good home fixtures, recruitment in January and players coming back from injury so lots of things to be positive about.”
For this evening's encounter, Joel Dixon is set to line up as goalkeeper with Liam Gordon at right-back and Declan John at left-back, while Santos could be partnered by Will Aimson at the back.
With Williams not quite ready to return, George Johnston could deputise in the holding midfield role, with Kieran Lee and George Thomason in front of him.
On the right flank, Evatt faces a choice between Elias Kachunga and Xavier Amaechi, with Eoin Doyle set to start through the middle and Dapo Afolayan on the left flank.
Bolton Wanderers predicted starting XI vs Fleetwood Town: Dixon; Gordon, Santos, Aimson, John; Johnston, Lee, Thomason; Kachunga, Doyle, Afolayan.
