Bolton Wanderers and Steven Schumacher have just received big boost for run-in – it could be their ticket to the Championship | OneFootball

If Ricardo Santos can return from injury back to his best form then Bolton Wanderers' chances of promotion have massively increased.

As Bolton Wanderers head into yet another dramatic run-in in League One as they chase another top six spot and a play-off place, the Trotters will have hoped to have regrouped and gathered themselves after back-to-back defeats before the March international break.

One major element that could prove to make a massive difference for the Whites in the final month of the campaign could be the return of Portuguese centre-back Ricardo Santos.

Santos has been unavailable due to injury throughout the opening couple of months of the Steven Schumacher reign, but he made his return in the second ‘test event’ at Everton’s new stadium based at Bramley-Moore Docks last week, as Wanderers’ B team suffered a 1-0 loss to the Toffees’ development squad.

His return, alongside the likes of Kyle Dempsey and Kion Etete, who also featured in that game, could prove to be the difference between Bolton being an also-ran or a team that can not only finish in the play-offs, but eventually win them.

The unfair and unfounded criticism of Santos

Ricardo Santos has been in the PFA Team of the Year in each season he has played for Bolton, once in League Two and three times in League One. Outside of Bolton, he is widely recognised as one of, if not the best defender outside the Championship – or, as Ian Evatt once said, the best outside the Premier League.

However, after heavy criticism following his performance in last season’s play-off final defeat to Oxford United at Wembley Stadium and some poor performances this season, he decided to no longer be Bolton captain in mid-September and the relationship between himself and supporters has become fractious.

Many Bolton fans would probably still be very content with the 29-year-old departing in the summer when his contract expires, but the fact of the matter is, a Santos at the top of his game can often be the difference between Bolton being chaotic or a controlled machine.

When Plymouth Argyle won the 2022/23 League One title, Ipswich Town finished second and are now a Premier League side, highlighting just how strong that side was. Only Ipswich conceded fewer than Bolton, by one goal, in that campaign.

Detractors would suggest that was more down to loanees James Trafford and Conor Bradley, but when they departed in the 2023/24 season, Bolton remained tight at the back whenever Santos was available and lax when he was not.

This season has been mixed in terms of Santos’ influence, but his absence has shown him to still be as crucial as ever, with Bolton’s goals against column without the former Barnet man genuinely embarrassing for a team with their ambition.

Bolton Wanderers’ run-in

Since Santos last played in a 2-2 draw with struggling Cambridge United in mid-January, towards the end of the Evatt era, Bolton have kept just one clean sheet in 12 matches and that came in a goalless draw against Wrexham at the Racecourse in early March.

In that run of 12 games, Bolton have conceded more than once in a match on four occasions, and they have conceded three goals twice, too.

Whilst results and things like this could and did happen with Santos in the defence, even at his worst when out of form, it was still far more infrequent.

Wanderers have been better under Schumacher and supporters remain positive as they head into the final nine games of the season sitting a point and a place outside the play-off places.

However, even when they have won under Schumacher, they have lacked control and simply always look like they will concede and that is not a sustainable way of mounting a promotion challenge.

The return of Santos is timely and could well be the difference for Wanderers, with a redemption arc also in play following that aforementioned defeat to Oxford last year and the potential to avenge that in the final month and a half of the season.

That could start this weekend when Bolton head to Bloomfield Road to face Lancashire rivals Blackpool in a crucial clash. Santos returned from injury away at Blackpool last season, was sent off and Bolton lost 4-1. The time is now for Bolton and Santos – if he can regain his best form, then Bolton’s chances of promotion to the Championship have just majorly increased.