Bolton Wanderers angry over concussion in Northern Ireland

Ian Evatt has expressed concern over the centre-back’s return to play for three days after reporting dizziness during a friendly in Belarus. He started the next match against Bulgaria in Belfast but was substituted during the first half after reporting symptoms again.

The confusion over exactly which protocol timeline to follow subsequently affected Bolton’s next two matches, with the player being declared unavailable for the home match against Burton Albion and subsequently withdrawing from the squad that traveled to Birmingham City.

Toal has trained fully this week as the club adhered strictly to Graduated Return to Play Program guidelines and it is expected he will be declared fit to play against Peterborough United by a neurologist.

Wanderers are unhappy that Toal were played in the second Nations League match, effectively costing them the services of a key defender at St Andrew’s.

Speaking about Toal’s condition during his pre-match press conference, Evatt said the club has little ability to influence the situation when players are injured on international duty.

He said: “The problem for us was that there were two episodes and not just one. If there was only one, we could have played him on Tuesday, but because there were two, we will always be careful. Player welfare will always come first and always will be our top priority. Together with a neurologist and a medical team we decided that he was not ready to play in Birmingham, but we are hopeful that he will be fine on Saturday.

“I indicated that I was disappointed with the way things went and that is not the first time. Last season we obviously had Dion (Charles). Unfortunately, because of the way the football pyramid is set up, we are lower down the food chain and these international teams can pretty much do whatever they want, so we have to bite the bullet a bit.”

Toal will be suspended for Northern Ireland’s next match at home to Belarus on November 15, but is likely to be called up to play against Luxembourg on November 18 along with teammates Dion Charles and Luke Southwood.

Josh Sheehan (Wales) and Szabolcs Schön (Hungary) are also expected to travel next month in the third international window of the season, meaning the trip to Rotherham United, currently scheduled for November 16, will be rescheduled.

Evatt said the club is making a cocky attempt to reschedule postponed matches as early as possible in the seasonal calendar to ensure there is no build-up in the final few months similar to that seen in the previous season. And that could also free up space for knockout games if the club progresses to the latter stages of the FA Cup and Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

“It’s nice to have internationals and it’s nice to have a break and a reset, but it can also cause complications,” Evatt added.

“It can be difficult – and I have explained how difficult it can be to prepare during international breaks when you only bring the players back a few days before a match. You never really know what condition they will return to.”

Wanderers have set a points target for the next break, with trips to Stevenage and Stockport County in play after today’s visit from Peterborough.

“At the end of the last international window we were targeting this block of five games and we wanted ten points, so two per game, and we know where that’s going,” the manager said. “We still have three league games to achieve that, one at home, two away, and if we can get seven points from those games then I think it’s a good return.

“I know we’re still a long way from that, but the opportunity is there, and we also have a cup game where we always want to progress, but Walsall are going well too. It’s a challenging run given the availability of the squad, but we are where we are and we have to deal with it.”