Lee Bowyer confirms reason behind Aiden McGeady’s absence at Stoke – and has say on Charlton debut of David Davis

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer revealed that Aiden McGeady missed out at Stoke due to illness.

The 33-year-old midfielder joined the club on loan from Sunderland until the end of the season on transfer deadline day, and was an unused substitute during the 2-1 win over Barnsley last weekend.

But the Republic of Ireland international was unavailable for the 3-1 loss at the bet365 Stadium.

“He was ill on Wednesday, Thursday,” explained Bowyer.

“He trained yesterday but he wasn’t right. He was desperate to travel, that’s why he trained, but he just wasn’t right. It would be the wrong thing to do, to bring him up here as he was ill.”

Fellow January arrival David Davis was involved during the disappointing defeat against the Potters – featuring for the full ninety minutes and making more successful tackles than any other man in an Addicks shirt according to Stats Zone.

“I thought he did OK,” said Bowyer, when asked what he made of the Birmingham man’s debut.

“I thought he won the ball when he got booked and they scored from the set-piece. His momentum took him into the player but that’s part of the game. So, I thought the foul was harsh on him and the yellow card.

“He’ll improve in the time he’s here. For me, at times he takes too long on the ball and gets caught but apart from that I thought he worked hard and gave everything that he had. Looked a bit tired towards the end but I saw a lot of things that I liked.”

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