George Johnston: Injured Bolton Wanderers defender signs new three-year deal
The 24-year-old will have his anterior cruciate ligament repaired.
Johnston joined Wanderers from Wigan in the summer of 2021 and has played 93 times for the club, helping them win the EFL Trophy earlier this year.
“As we feared, it’s the worst possible news,” said CEO Ian Evatt.
“There are no additional complications, which could be the case.” It’s fairly straightforward, so there are some advantages.
“George has been and will continue to be a fantastic player for us, and he will have all the support and care he needs to get back to full strength.”
George Johnston: Injured Bolton Wanderers defender signs new three-year deal
Ian Evatt revealed that attempts to tie the former Liverpool and Feyenoord defender down to a longer deal at the Toughsheet Community Stadium had been fruitless, up until a new approach was made by the club in the last few weeks.
Johnston was coming into the final 12 months of his existing contract but has now committed his future to the summer of 2026.
The 24-year-old had successful surgery this week to repair his anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to miss the whole 2023/24 campaign.
Wanderers brought him back to the negotiating table to remove any lingering concern over his future.
“We had certainly tried to make it (the contract) happen but it wasn’t a straightforward negotiation,” Evatt told The Bolton News.
“When the injury happened it kind of changed things and George hadn’t asked to re-engage, we made the call that it was the right thing to do. We wanted to support him moving forwards and he has jumped at the chance to stay with us.
“He understands completely what we are trying to do and the project we have got going on here, so it was really straightforward in the end for him to sign the three years and then for him to focus on his rehab, which was the most important thing for him right now.”
Johnston was Wanderers’ young player of the year in 2021/22 and last season part of a defence which kept a club record 26 clean sheets in all competitions.
Leave a Reply