Manchester City & Liverpool duo's readiness for start of Bolton Wanderers pre-season assessed

Both James Trafford and Conor Bradley will be ready to play for Bolton Wanderers in the club's first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The Manchester City and Liverpool pair did not travel to Wanderers' Portugal pre-season training camp on the Algarve. This was due to recent international commitments for both players.

Goalkeeper Trafford has been with England's under-21s. Right-back Bradley meanwhile is a fully fledged Northern Ireland international.

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Jack Iredale has been the only summer acquisition which made the trip to Portugal. Both Trafford and Bradley were given time off after their recent international exploits, but will link back up with the Wanderers squad upon their return.

Wanderers have their first pre-season friendly on Tuesday evening when they travel to take on Longridge Town. It is a repeat of how Wanderers began pre-season in the 2021/22 campaign.

And speaking to the Manchster Evening News, Wanderers boss Evatt has confirmed that the loan pair plus veteran midfielder Kieran Lee will all be back available for the fixture. The latter has recently become a father again, which is why he remained in the UK and did not travel to Portugal.

And Evatt believes the training camp on the Algarve has been a successful one for his side. He feels the group are 'miles ahead' of where they were this time last year and believes it is an exciting prospect.

"We've got three missing from here with Conor, James Trafford and Kieran Lee. Kieran Lee's wife gave birth on his birthday which is fantastic for him, so he'll be back available and he has been training.

"James will be ready to play and Conor