David Wagner has revealed new Huddersfield Town signing Terence Kongolo will be involved in the FA Cup clash at Bolton Wanderers.
The 23-year-old loan signing from AS Monaco has impressed in his initial training sessions at PPG Canalside and will be on the teamsheet at the Macron Stadium.
Whether that will be in the starting line-up – which does seem most likely – or on the bench is still to be determined.
The boss explained: “Terence Kongolo will be involved, but I will decide my starting line-up later.
“He looked good in his first two training sessions and I think he will help us for sure.
“Terence is an important signing for us because we are short on numbers in the centre-back position.”
Wagner, in his pre-match press conference, said the only starting position he could confirm was the goalkeeper – with Joel Coleman starting ahead of ex-Leeds United veteran Rob Green.
The 22-year-old Coleman has started just two matches all season, the EFL Cup games against Rotherham United and Crystal Palace back in August and September.
Jonas Lossl will be rested in rotation (he could still make the bench), among an expected flood of changes to the starting line-up against Phil Parkinson’s side.
Michael Hefele is a likely starter, having recovered from an Achilles problem and pronounced himself “fully fit”.
Midfielder Phil Billing is back in full training and Jon Gorenc Stankovic has returned to PPG Canalside, but is yet to feature in a full session.
Left back Chris Lowe will be at least another 10 days recovering from a foot injury and is already a doubt for the Premier League clash with West Ham next Saturday, January 13.
On his resources for the third-round tie, Wagner explained: “I am very glad we have Hefele back as a player and a character in the dressing room.
“Michael and Phil Billing feel like new signings for us. Phil may be in the squad. Everyone else is in training.”
Wagner expects a tough test at the Macron Stadium.
“It’s a physical, direct team (we are up against) and I don’t expect them to play like Man City!” said the boss.
“This is the character of the team and the players (at Bolton) so they will use their weapons.
“We are aware of their weapons and we ant ours to be stronger.
“There is no doubt we will have to be at our very best to go through. We have a lot of respect for Championship teams and we know how good and intense the matches are, but we want to be successful.
“Unfortunately from my point of view there is not enough focus on the FA Cup because it is just another game in a very busy period.
“It isn’t realistic for Huddersfield Town to think about winning the FA Cup, but then it wasn’t realistic for Huddersfield Town to get promoted.
“Sometimes in football the unrealistic happens – rarely!
“When Jens Lehmann was at Arsenal I started taking more notice of the FA Cup, because I played with him at Schalke. We know the history of the competition.”
On the keepers, Wagner added: “The only position I can confirm is that Joel Coleman will start, if everything goes well in training.
“Joel has performed consistently at a high level in training and that’s why he will start.
“Rob (Green) has done brilliantly since he arrived and he has pushed Joel to another level.”
