Bolton Wanderers Marlon Fossey replacement hinted at vs Crewe Alex as formation change on cards

Bolton Wanderers attacker Kieran Sadlier could slot into the right wing-back berth left by the injured Marlon Fossey today against Crewe Alexandra while Ian Evatt has raised the prospect of changing his side's shape again.

Wanderers travel to Cheshire today to take on the Railwaymen in their final game for a fortnight before the international break.

But the Whites will have to do so without Fulham loanee Fossey, whose season has come to a premature end after he suffered a torn meniscus which will keep him out of action for the remainder of the campaign.

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Gethin Jones will return from compassionate leave at the start of next week following the death of his mother.

Sadlier is a potential candidate to fill the void left by Fossey's absence in the right wing-back role.

But Evatt has also suggested that they could change shape altogether because of that against Crewe.

Wanderers switched from a back three to a back four in the second half of the loss against Plymouth Argyle last weekend, but looked much better for it and were the superior side in the clash after that alteration.

Evatt is pleased to have that ability now at his disposal and to do so even within games with some tweaks of personnel already on the pitch.

And the development of this and the options it presents is one reason among many why Evatt is looking forward to pre-season ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He said: "Kieran Sadlier can play in multiple positions, he could slip in at wing-back or we could change shape.

"We changed shape second half against Plymouth and it had a really good effect, so we’ve got lots of options. We will see what we do.

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