Bolton Wanderers manager Keith Hill has revealed that on-loan midfielder Liam Bridcutt will miss his side's clash with Burton Albion on New Year's Day due to a hamstring injury.

Bridcutt, whose loan move from Nottingham Forest is set to come to an end next month, limped off after just 15 minutes of Wanderers' 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town on Sunday afternoon, and it seems he could now be facing another spell on the sidelines.

Speaking after that game about the injury suffered by Bridcutt, Hill told the Bolton News: “We’ll have to wait and see how severe the injury is once he’s had the scan but it definitely means he’ll miss the Burton game.

“It happens and we can’t do a lot about it. You can’t control injuries."

Discussing one way in which the injury may have come about, Hill went on to explain: “It is probably a bit of fatigue in the distances the players were running at Sunderland, they were huge, the output was massive. They were leggy at the end of the game.”

The absence of Bridcutt looks as though it will come at a bad time for Bolton, with fellow central midfielder Jason Lowe also set to miss the match with Burton through suspension.

Lowe was shown a straight red card for a heavy challenge on Shrewsbury midfield Ollie Norburn just before the hour mark on Sunday, a decision it seems Hill has no qualms with.

Asked about the decision to dismiss the Bolton man, Hill simply said: “You can see why the ref has sent him off.” 

The Verdict

What a blow this is for Bolton.

This is not the first injury Bridcutt has been hit with during his time with Bolton, having also fractured his collarbone in a draw with Blackpool in early October, which ruled him out of several games.

Given how impressive he has been during his time on the pitch for Wanderers, you can only wonder how much better off they would had he been available on a more regular basis, a situation they now look as though they find themselves facing again.

You also have to feel for Bridcutt here, considering how long he had waited for first-team football following his time out of the picture at Forest, only to see his chance badly hampered by injuries at Bolton.