"I think he is a terrific player," said the Bolton boss. "He wanted to play, which I understand, but his opportunities were limited because of the form of Gary Cahill and Zat Knight, but also Sam Ricketts when he came in.
"I tried to be fair with him. I could have been really selfish as a manager and brought him back as cover for me, just in case anything had happened.
"I felt it would be morally wrong of me to do that. I'm denying him the opportunity of playing games and I know from my own experience as a player that it can be frustrating, so ultimately I left the decision up to him.
"I said if you want another month at Leeds United, then that's your decision, if you don't and want to come back and challenge for a place, then great, because I've got a terrific player back in our squad."