Gethin Jones and Jack Iredale have been watched by Australia with the view to calling them up for the AFC Asian Cup, which kicks off on January 12 and runs until February 10.
Socceroos assistant Rene Meulensteen was at Bolton on Saturday to run the rule over the uncapped pair, who have been mainstays for Ian Evatt this season.
Carlos Mendes Gomes will definitely be involved in Guinea Bissau’s squad for the African Cup of Nations, which runs for an almost identical length of time.
If their county also reaches the distance, the trio may be out of play for seven league games, depending on how early the squads gather.
Evatt is already weighing whether he needs to bring in midfield backup for Gomes in January, but he now has something else to think about in defence if Jones or Iredale are selected.
“Obviously, to some extent, we will have to make a decision once we arrive,” he told The Bolton News.
“I believe Carlos is now guaranteed to attend the African Nations, so we know where we stand on that one.”
“But we also now have some slight worries that Australia might call Geth and Jack for the Asia Cup, which is a worry we don’t really need.
“It happens at the same time, six weeks out of January until the second week in February, and their assistant was watching them on Saturday.
“It is something we will have to be quite fluid with, see what happens, and we haven’t had any confirmation about anything yet other than Carlos. We can plan for that now and just stay flexible with everything else.”
International football has already caused some disruption to Bolton’s season, with two games postponed because of call-ups, but there will be no recourse to move fixtures for those involved in either the Asian Cup or African Cup of Nations.
Though pleased his players are getting recognition, Evatt admits the timing could be better.
“Well, we could go on with the debate about having international tournaments mid-season and games still have to be played, not being compensated etc, but it is probably an argument for another time, not for now,” he added.
Wanderers face Port Vale in the second round of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy tonight, hoping to continue their championship defence.
Vale gave stiff opposition on their home turf at the end of September, and Evatt anticipates another difficult tie this time.
“They asked us a lot of questions, especially in the second half, during that game,” he told reporters. “They just got a good result at Stevenage, and they can be a difficult team to play against.” They can cause problems with their setup and play. We must be prepared.
“We have a responsibility to win as many games as we can at this football club, so this is no different.”
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