Michael Appleton has provided an update at the club’s official press conference regarding the injury suffered during the first half of the 0-0 draw with Shrewsbury Town by Charlton Athletic midfielder Terry Taylor.
The Charlton Athletic manager has provided an update on his squad availability ahead of their League One midweek fixture with Exeter City at The Valley. The Addicks, like many sides in English football have had several injury concerns which they have been managing with both Scott Fraser and Nathan Asiimwe returning to the match-day squad for their previous game against Shrewsbury Town.
Speaking to the club’s official media he confirmed the status of the pair:
“They both trained again today. It was nice to see them get minutes. Obviously Scott has been out for a bit more time than Nathan and I think he needed it – you could tell after speaking to him later that he certainly needed those minutes so it was good for everybody really.
“Nathan has been out a little bit less and played more games this year, so it was a little bit easier for him. They both trained today without any issues and we want to keep them as fit as we possibly can.”
However despite the welcome return of Fraser and Asiimewe the club unfortunately lost Terry Taylor in the opening half of the fixture . He was substituted in the 44th minute, being replaced by Louie Watson. It was the 22 year old’s second league start of the season but could be his last for a significant period.
“Terry has gone for a scan today. The initial fear was his ankle, because he rolled his ankle early in the game and then he went knee-to-knee with one of their players a little bit later, so he was really sore in a couple of areas. I think the ankle was the main issue. We do not know the extent yet but we do know that he is going to be out for a period of time.”
The former Lincoln City and Portsmouth boss also gave an update on the status of Panutche Camará who has been out injured with a foot injury, confirming that he has returned to training on the grass but has not yet linked up with the first team for full sessions yet.
“It is difficult to say. The last three or four days he has been on the grass. He hasnot been with the group but he has been on the grass with the physio and the sports science lads. It is good to see him back with boots on if I am being honest because it is quite an acute injury. He has been back on the grass, he has had his boots on and not had any major reactions from that, so hopefully that is a good sign.”
There was also a small update on the overall status of the squad with several players understood to be 50/50 ahead of the mid-week fixture. Several are “bruised” and likely to need late decisions on their fitness.
“There were a couple of bruised bodies on Saturday – it ended up being a physical game. We have got one or two players who we will give a little bit of time over the next 24 hours before we make any big decisions on it. There will be a couple that will be 50/50 for tomorrow. Hopefully they will be on the right side of that and we won’t have too many changes.”
Charlton Athletic face Shrewsbury Town at 7:45pm on Tuesday evening at The Valley.
Writer’s View
More and more teams are facing significant injury issues, many pundits have pointed to the updated regulations regarding injury time, which has extended the length of games. Whether or not this is the reason club’s up and down the leagues are suffering and are having to deal with a significant number of players on the sidelines. Those with deeper squads may well benefit as the season goes on.