Rovers have announced two friendlies as they plan out their preparations for the 2021/22 season.

Tony Mowbray will take his side to AFC Fylde and Bolton Wanderers as the club announced their first two close season fixtures.

Rovers will face National League North side Fylde at Mill Farm on Saturday, July 10 (3pm).

They are expected to finish their preparations against Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday, July 31 (3pm).

Rovers were due to meet Wanderers in a pre-season fixture last summer, only for it to be shelved. The sides had planned to meet at the University of Bolton Stadium on August 29, but that was scrapped after Rovers opted to bring forward their Carabao Cup tie against Doncaster by a week.

Rovers and Fylde have met in the close season before, but mainly taking an Under-23s side.

The game will be played in memory of Luke Bennett, an Academy player at AFC Fylde who died in March, aged just 17. His dad Tom is a coach at the Rovers Academy.

That will be the first game of Rovers’ pre-season programme which last year started at Fleetwood Town, having started their 2017 and 2019 fixtures at Barrow, while in 2018 they faced Hibernian.

With the new Championship season to get under way on August 7, it is expected that the game against Wanderers will be the final fixture of the close season.

Rovers hope to stage a friendly at Ewood Park, having done so just twice during Mowbray’s time in charge, both in 2018 when they faced Liverpool and Everton, with more friendlies to be announced in due course.

Ian Evatt led Bolton to promotion from League Two earlier this month, ensuring an immediate return to the third tier.

The sides last met in the 2018/19 Championship campaign, Rovers winning 1-0 at the UniBol courtesy of a Bradley Dack strike, before completing the double over the Whites with a 2-0 victory at Ewood Park on Easter Monday.

Bolton hope that pending government guidance and local authority approval, the game is expected to be the first with supporters inside the UniBol since February 29 2020.

Rovers say ticketing arrangements for both games, as well as additional pre-season friendlies, will be announced in due course.