Dean Holden has provided an update on returning internationals Joe Wollacott and Terell Thomas ahead of Saturday's game against Shrewsbury Town at The Valley.
The duo were both back in training at Sparrows Lane on Thursday having been away with Ghana and Saint Lucia respectively.
“Jojo and Terell are doing fine, I had a good chat with them both this morning," said the gaffer. "Jojo obviously didn’t get minutes so he’ll be disappointed, but at the same time it’s a positive for him to be back involved with the national squad after the disappointment of missing the World Cup through injury.
“Terell is slightly different; he played two 90 minutes and helped his team qualify for the Gold Cup preliminary tournament for the first time ever. He was saying to the players this morning that it’s their version of the Euros so it’s a big moment.
"It’s out in Miami this summer which he’ll really be looking forward to. He landed just before lunchtime yesterday and his sleep pattern didn’t really get impacted whilst he was away, so it’s not like he’s jet-lagged or anything like that. He’s fit and obviously he’ll come back into the squad.
“The guys that played in the game last week have had no real issues. I’ve spoken before about certain players who can only train certain days of the week through historical injury situations, but there’s nothing really to be too worried about.”
Asked how eager he is to give the Charlton faithful a home win, Holden said: "That's the target, for sure. It’s a good game for us. I know a lot about Shrewsbury having played there myself for a period of time.
"It’s great to see Steve [Cotterill] back healthy and doing what he does best. He did a really good job at Bristol City, getting them out of League One and doing the double with the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy as it was then before me and Lee [Johnson] went in.
“It’s great to see him overcome his health issues that he had post-Covid and it’s good to see him back on the touchline. Aaron [Wilbraham], his assistant, is someone I played with at the beginning of my career and then ended up coaching him at Bristol City, so it will be good to see those guys. I know a lot about the team and personally I know one or two in there as well.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us," continued the boss. "They’ve had a really good season if you think about the previous seasons where they’ve struggled a little bit down the bottom end of the table. They’re a big, strong unit, full of energy and running and with some real quality as well.
“Of course it’s a challenge for us because they’re a team just above us in the league. We’ve spoken previously about getting ourselves up into that sort of top 10 part of the division and for that reason it’s obviously a big game for us.”
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(Transcript by Alex Forrest)
