Bolton's midfield dynamo has been ramping up his return for the last month or so. First came the news that Holden would participate in full training (albeit on a day-on-day-off schedule) and then the possibility of a reserve match for the US international before Christmas.

Well, it seems that the potential reserve match is today. Bolton's reserve side, (the U21s) have a blank calendar until the second part of their season starts up except for tonight when they take on Bury in the Manchester Senior Cup at the County Ground.

By all indications, Holden is set to play up to 45 minutes as his recovery from a vicious knee injury continues. The reserve side that takes on Bury should be full of first-teamers that have not had a lot of time under Dougie Freedman so we fully expect the likes of Tim Ream, Marvin Sordell, and Joe Riley to be on show.

The club has not confirmed it yet but the news appears to have slipped from Holden himself as he was collecting goods for charity this weekend at various locations before the Wanderers beat Charlton Athletic 2-0.