Bolton manager Owen Coyle said: "You are always disappointed when you lose one of your best players. You want them available all the time.
"When they are not available you go with the ones you have and you look for them to do their best.
"The players wear that shirt with pride here and will give everything they can. I am sure this group will do all in their power to win points for Bolton."
"Gary suffered a pain in his arm and it became severely swollen on the day of the Fulham game.
"There was no way he could play so we took him straight off to hospital. It turns out he had a blood clot in his arm, so he is going to be out for a number of months.
"The clot needed to be resolved and in doing that you need the medication. It follows you can't play.
"It is a severe blow for the boy but our main concern is his welfare. We have to make sure Gary is fit and well.
"As disappointed as we are, at 24, he has a marvellous career ahead of him. I believe he would have made the World Cup for the summer but we have to make sure first of all he recovers from this blood clot."