Speed won't be rushed back

Sam Allardyce will not be rushing Gary Speed back into his Bolton first-team.

The experienced Welsh midfielder, who is a key player for The Trotters, is currently on the sidelines with a medial ligament injury.

Allardyce is wary of putting too much pressure on the club's medical staff and is happy to wait for Speed to fully recover before bringing him back into his squad.

"Gary has a medial ligament injury, and they are quite serious," said Allardyce.

"We sometimes put a little bit too much pressure on our backroom staff and ask them to work too many miracles.

"But injuries like this will only improve with time.

"As much as you do treatment-wise, there has to be a certain amount of time - no matter what you do for him to recover.

"We might have been a little bit too hasty in putting a time span on it. It may have been a bit too short, and he might need a bit longer."