Coyle plays down Cahill scare

Cahill: Scored then substituted

Gary Cahill was substituted as a precaution as Bolton Wanderers beat Charlotte Eagles 3-0 in the opening match of their North American tour.

Influential defender Cahill opened the scoring for the Trotters after just eight minutes, but was replaced before the break after picking up a shin injury.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle is confident the England hopeful has not picked up a serious problem, but does not want to take any chances with Cahill's fitness.

"He felt his shin so we took him off as a precaution," Coyle told the club's official website.

"We are not going to take a risk on someone of the stature of Gary Cahill and so we took him out of the fray."

New boy praise

Johan Elmander increased Bolton's lead against Charlotte five minutes after half-time before new signing Martin Petrov scored 10 minutes from time.

Coyle was satisfied with the performance of Petrov, and that of fellow new boy Robbie Blake as Bolton enjoyed a confident start to their tour.

He added: "Martin Petrov is a top player and Robbie's touch in the first half was exquisite, bringing others into play.

"Those two have come into the group and you can see tonight how they have been made to feel welcome by the rest of the group.

"But it is wrong for me to pick out individuals because there were a lot of great performances out there, given that it was their first game and everything that comes with that."