Charlton Athletic boss still has ‘high hopes’ for loaned out youngster

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has talked about Zach Mitchell still having a big future at the League One promotion chasers.

The young defender, 20, joined Scottish side St Johnstone at the start of February and has made 10 appearances.

Mitchell has suffered a hamstring injury which forced him to miss the 5-0 loss to Celtic in the Scottish FA Cup semi-final last weekend.

“He has done very well,” Jones told the South London Press. “It is a shame he has missed the semi-final because of the hamstring injury but it is a learning curve for him.

“We will evaluate everything that has gone on up there, but he is someone we have high hopes for. He is someone who plays the way we want to play.

“We felt we couldn’t give him 15-20 games in the second half of the season – St Johnstone have been able to give him far more game time. So it has been a very productive loan for him.”

St Johnstone head coach Simo Valakari is not completely ruling Mitchell out of featuring before the campaign ends.

“Zach is keen to see how it goes,” Valakari told The Courier. “It’s a good sign that he feels he can try to get back this season. We both see the situation the same way.

“It’s a big motivation for him. Seeing a loan player so determined to come back is great to see.

“Of course, every player wants to recover from an injury as quickly as possible, but Zach also wants to help the team.

“The plan is for him to stay with us for a couple of weeks – our physio will be hands-on with him because she knows the injury.

“He might go back to Charlton and we will get a second opinion about what the next step will be.”

PICTURE: ALAMY