Hodgson believes that being part of the England squad which triumphed 4-1 in Croatia was a tremendous fillip for the midfielder who returned from a serious knee injury to play a big part in Fulham's desperate escape from relegation last season.

"He has obviously enjoyed his time with the national team and we hope that will impact on us and that his high level of performance will remain," Hodgson said.

"If he can improve on it even more we will be the first to be grateful for that."

Hodgson insists that Fulham, despite claiming Arsenal's scalp already, will not be taking a physical Bolton side lightly on Saturday.

"Whether it's Arsenal or Bolton, the level of difficulty remains equally high and we've got to be prepared for what is going to be a very tough encounter," he said.

"We must work very hard and match them in every way and hopefully play as well as we did for long periods against Arsenal.

"We're taking nothing for granted because we were lucky enough to get a good result against Arsenal, because Bolton will come here well prepared."