Bolton Wanderers are preparing for life back in League One after just a season away in the fourth tier of English football - but they'll have to do without one of their more exciting summer arrivals.

In what seemingly came a bit out of the blue, the Trotters landed young attacker Xavier Amaechi on a six-month loan deal from German side Hamburg.

Amaechi was previously on the books of Arsenal until 2019, when he switched to the former Bundesliga side for a fee of £2.25 million.

The 20-year-old has only made three league appearance for Hamburg's senior side though and after a loan spell with Karlsruhe last season in Germany's second tier, Amaechi has returned to England to seek regular minutes.

 

 

 

 

That may have happened at Wanderers, however he's set to be sidelined for several months after picking up a fractured metatarsal in a pre-season friendly last week against Preston North End.

It's an injury that Amaechi has had to undergo surgery for, and he confirmed earlier today on his Instagram account that the operation was a successful and he now starts the road to recovery, but it's unclear on the time-frame of when he's expected to be back to make his competitive Wanderers debut.

The Verdict

Amaechi could be out for a number of months due to having to undergo surgery and he could only have a couple of months left on his loan deal by the time he is fit, with Ian Evatt confirming his absence as 'significant'.

It's unknown as to whether Evatt will now have to dip into the transfer market to bolster his wing areas even further, but he may be covered enough with the likes of Lloyd Isgrove, Oladapo Afolayan and even Nathan Delfouneso can also play out wide.

It is a devastating setback for the former Arsenal man though who would have been hoping to hit the ground running and potentially earn himself a permanent deal at the University of Bolton Stadium, however he's going to have to wait a while longer to make an impact in-front of the Wanderers fans.