After spending the second half of last season on loan with English League Two outfit Carlisle United, Bolton forward Johann Smith is back with his parent club and looking to regain the fitness that made the Connecticut native a pacy threat.

The US Under-20 international has found recent months frustrating, what with being forced off the roster for the 2007 U-20 World Cup after sustaining an ankle injury in the final training scrimmage before the tournament kickoff.

That injury has been plaguing the attacker all summer, but Bolton press officer Daniel Reuben told American Soccer Daily, "He's just now in the process of getting his fitness back up."

To compound it all, the young forward saw much of his playing time limited to a late substitute role for the Cumbrians as he fought to gain experience in a league known more for physicality than technical skill.

Smith returns to a Bolton side that has since lost longtime manager Sam Allardyce, under whom Smith received his professional debut, to Newcastle United. Allardyce assistant Sammy Lee - affectionately known as "Little Sam" - has since taken the reigns of a club looking to keep a good thing going.