José Riga has been handed a timely boost ahead of Saturday’s Championship fixture against Birmingham City at The Valley, with Jordan Cousins, Chris Solly and Patrick Bauer all returning to full training.
Cousins, Man of the Match in our last home game against Middlesbrough, missed the fixture at Sheffield Wednesday last time out with a hamstring complaint, while two-time Player of the Year Solly has been absent since the beginning of February with an ankle injury.
Summer signing Bauer, an impressive performer in the season’s opening weeks, has been sidelined with a groin injury that he sustained at Burnley in December, and Riga says that all three could play some part at the weekend.
“The medical staff did a great job during the break and what we had hoped they would,” he said. “I have a few more options back now.
“Chris Solly, Jordan Cousins and Patrick Bauer are all back in full training, though that, of course, does not necessarily mean that they are ready to start a match.
“For Patrick in particular, it has been a long time since he was not injured. We need to be careful and to be prudent with some of them.
“They will need some time and we have three games in a week coming up so it is very important for us to have more options and possibilities. It is up to us to do things in a way so that we can use all of them when we need fresh legs, fresh brains and a fresh mindset. That is very important.
“Ahmed Kashi is back out on the pitch, too, and is able to do some physical work, which is good also. We need everybody fit and everybody committed because we start a mini-sequence of three games that are very, very important for us, and certainly the first one.”
Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Reza Ghoochannejhad were two of five members of the squad to go away on international duty last week.
Riga revealed that one of them has returned in excellent spirits, though the other has unfortunately picked up an injury.
He said: “Johann is ok. He played half of Iceland’s first game and 90 minutes in their second one, where they won against Greece. I’ll have to have a discussion with him about whether he is completely fit but I think he is going to be fine.
“It is also quite good when you come back from an international break with a win.
“About Reza, unfortunately he picked up a physical problem with his hamstring and is now injured. We don’t know exactly what he has done yet but certainly he will not be available on Saturday, so we have had some good news, some bad news.”Read more at
http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/charlton-athletic-team-news-birmingham-city-cousins-solly-bauer-3035162.aspx#qumJVW2stYPY8IlK.99
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Comments
No I think you will find most people will think its double good news !
I am going to take the fact that there is no mention of Igor with guarded optimism too.
New signing Kyle Lafferty will miss the match at Charlton Athletic but will almost certainly have a role to play in Birmingham City's crucial run-in, according to boss Gary Rowett.
Rowett will welcome back Diego Fabrrini for the trip to The Valley on Saturday.
And the Blues boss is also hopeful Clayton Donaldson and Jaques Maghoma will be available following their international exertions.
Now I am just jealous. They are a properly run club, with a good young, up and coming, British manager. The sort of appointment old Charlton would have made.
They have players that are committed, hard workers and make the most of the talent they have. The fans can identify with the players and the manager has got them playing as a team that is greater than the sum of the parts. And as a result the club are punching above their weight.
I don't think that is too much to expect really. But it is soo far away from our reality.
It almost sounds like Riga is saying... I dont know what he has done to get a hamstring as he does fcuk all!!
On a serious note it must be one of the hardest parts of being a Footballer, being injured and running alone whilst you see everyone playing together
The Club's official April Fools' joke?