Michael Appleton has provided a positive update on Tayo Edun ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Wigan Athletic.
The left-back has been sidelined for five weeks with a hamstring injury sustained during training.
“It’s a little bit of a controversial one with me because I think players can sometimes deal and cope better than what we think they can,” said Appleton. “We’re clearly not going to get a 90-minute spell out of Tayo because he’s not played for so long.
“It’s a delicate one because it’s a hamstring injury and you’ve got to be careful with these things,” he added. “I’d like to think that, whether he started the game, he could play a reasonable amount of the game. If not, you’re just hoping that we’ve got a few assurances from the medical staff that he’s capable of playing hopefully more than 20 minutes.”
Conor McGrandles, who, like Edun, enjoyed a successful spell at Lincoln City under Appleton, is also nearing a return to action following a knee injury.
“He’s trained with the group for a similar sort of time as Tayo really,” Appleton revealed. “They’ve both had two or three sessions with the group, so he’s in contention now. Hopefully we can keep him fit, get him as many training sessions and as many minutes as we possibly can.”
Asked if he has any fresh injury concerns, the Head Coach said: “The only one from Saturday is Terell [Thomas]. Obviously he took a knock in the first half which came with the controversy around the goal. We thought he was flagging a little bit in the second half and I believe he got another knock to the same area so it was almost like a double dead leg.
“Today [Monday] is going to be a big day for him to see if he’s able to turn it round for tomorrow. Apart from Terell, everyone seems to have come through the three-game week okay.”
Supporters all over the world - including those in the UK and Ireland - can watch every kick of Tuesday's game against the Latics live on CharltonTV (KO 7.45pm GMT). Click here to purchase your match pass.