Jermaine Beckford set for friendly debut

Six days after officially completing his move to Bolton Wanderers, new striker Jermaine Beckford is set to make his Wanderers debut in the Trotters' penultimate pre-season friendly on Tuesday night at Carlisle United's Brunton Park. Beckford, who had been training with the whites since signing, is not yet ready for a start according to Dougie Freedman but will likely have a cameo role near the tail end of the clash.

Speaking to the Bolton News over the weekend, Dougie highlighted where Beckford's fitness stood:

"He's only done some very light jogging but he did a fitness test with us a couple of weeks ago.

"He'll train with us this week and then I'd guess next Tuesday he'd be ready to play some part - 15 or 20 minutes."

The match will be a bit of a homecoming for Jermaine Beckford, who spent a month on loan at Carlisle United in 2006. Beckford played just four times for Carlisle, scoring one goal. That one strike came on his debut against Millwall, a match Millwall would ultimately win 1-2 away.

Expectations are that Dougie Freedman's starting lineup against Carlisle United won't be too much of a departure from the side that started out against Shrewsbury Town at the weekend. In that match, the attacking three was composed of Chris Eagles, Rob Hall, and Marvin Sordell, all three of which played some part in Wanderers' three goals on the day. David Ngog, who had been dealing with a dislocated shoulder since the Leicester City game at the end of last season, could also make a short appearance.