Evatt Hopeful Of International Clearance

Ian Evatt is expecting a clean bill of health when his international contingent return to club duty.

The Whites have had five players on the international beat since a last League One win over Peterborough United.

The Northern Ireland pair of Conor Bradley and Dion Charles have both had game time in the Nations League, Amadou Bakayoko has featured twice for Sierra Leone, while the on-loan pair of James Trafford and Owen Beck have played at U21 level for England and Wales respectively.

The quintet will be back with Wanderers on Friday when Evatt will make a final call on their prospects of facing Lincoln City on Saturday in the first of eight games during October.  

“We’ve had a medical report that there are no injuries to speak of,” confirmed the Wanderers’ boss.

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“Conor Bradley had a little bit of sickness yesterday but they don’t envisage it being a problem for Saturday.

“I think he’ll get over that pretty quickly, so I don’t think there are any issues.

“We have to have conversations about how they’re feeling because we’ve got a big month coming up.

“We don’t want any heroes. They can only perform to the level I require them if they’re physically able to do so.

“Hopefully they’re refreshed enough and have had enough rest time to be able to go again on Saturday, but we’ll monitor each individual case.”

Assuming all get the green light to join in training on Friday, Evatt is likely to have his biggest pool yet to select from as Wanderers seek a fourth successive league win to stay inside the top six.

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Striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson started his first game since mid-August against Tranmere in the Papa Johns Trophy after recovering from a hamstring injury to put himself in contention to face the Imps.

Josh Sheehan and Eoin Toal played their first 90 minutes of the season in the 2-2 draw at Prenton Park last Tuesday night, while Lloyd Isgrove returned after nine months out and Beck made his Whites’ debut.

“It’s going to be a huge group and there are going to be some disappointed fellas on Saturday, but that’s football,” added Evatt.

“I’m really pleased with them all and the group we’ve got. We’re very fortunate to have the squad of players we’ve got.

“I’m seeing really positive signs from Josh Sheehan, who was outstanding in training today – the best he’s been and looked since he’s been back.

“Eoin Toal is getting better with every session and Jon has really hit the ground running this week, so it’s a really strong squad of players we’re looking forward to tackling this month with.”

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