JACK Iredale needs to reminder how cruel football can be but the latest injury twist in the Wanderers squad has also left him with big opportunity.

George Johnston underwent knee surgery last week and now faces several months of rehabilitation – a long road that his team-mate Iredale knows only too well.

The Australian defender suffered the injury on three occasions as a teenager, threatening his football career before it had even taken off. But Johnston’s absence has now given Iredale a chance to cement his place in Ian Evatt’s back three.

Iredale had his own campaign cut short in January last year after damaging the meniscus in his knee, a problem which required hospital treatment and a four-month lay-off. He returned in style on Saturday, heading the opening goal in a 3-0 win against Lincoln City.

His delight at scoring for the first time in a Bolton shirt and contributing to such a comprehensive win on the opening day was tempered slightly by the circumstances in which his opportunity had arrived.

“I really feel for Jonno because I have done exactly what he has done,” Iredale told The Bolton News. “I have kept in touch with him regularly and talked to him just before the game.

“I love Jonno and get on with him really well – on the pitch I think we had a good relationship between the left-sided centre-half and the wing-back as well.

“Football is a cruel game and with his injury it has opened a door for me to step into the role he played so well and make it my own this season.

“We have Zac Ashworth, Will Forrester and Eoin Toal who can also play there, so there is plenty of competition and I want to play as many minutes as possible, just like anyone else.”

Iredale had made 25 appearances in all competitions last season before the injury stopped him in his tracks. Unbeknown to most, it also happened at a worrying time for the defender and his family in which his father, Paul, was also receiving chemotherapy back home in Australia.

Thankfully, the treatment has gone well, and Iredale was able to speak with him parents late on Saturday night about his impressive return to action.

“I can’t thank the gaffer and the club enough for the way he treated me and helped me through it,” Iredale recalled.

“After I had my knee surgery he let me go home to see my family and be with my mum and dad for a bit, so that just gave me that mental re-set ready to come back in and get super-strong, super-fit and have a really good off season and come in fit and firing.”

Both Iredale and Victor Adeboyejo’s goals against Lincoln came from set pieces, an avenue which has not been especially profitable in the last few seasons.

There has been a concerted effort within the camp, however, to improve the Whites’ returns from free-kicks and corners, which have shown some positive results since the turn of the year.

“It is so important to be good on set pieces as well as being good with the ball,” said Iredale. “With due respect to Lincoln, they were probably looking to come here and catch us on the counter, so if you are playing against teams who are going to make it difficult like that then you need to find different ways to score goals. One way is to be strong on set pieces.

“We made them have to change their gameplan, and then you saw with the third goal, it is exactly what happened.

“Hirdy (first team coach Sam Hird) works really hard on set pieces and before every game we go through them – we have slideshows on them, they are up on the board, everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.”

Wanderers also kicked off their campaign with a clean sheet for debutant keeper Nathan Baxter, who steps into the record-breaking boots of James Trafford this season.

The former Chelsea man may well be rested in the Carabao Cup against Barrow, with fellow new signing Joel Coleman given a chance to shine, but Iredale joked that some differences between the goalkeepers are already fairly obvious.

“Nathan has a university degree – so no offence to Traff, I love him, but he’s a different guy already,” he laughed.

“He is getting used to playing in a new team and I know exactly how he feels, I was doing it last season. But you can see right away he is comfortable on the ball and he’ll learn the rotations that the midfielders like to do to help us get out.

“But from what I have seen from him so far he is a top quality keeper and I am excited to have him behind us this season.”