Charlton boss Nathan Jones: My comments about Greg Docherty missing Crawley Town game were tongue in cheek

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has spelled out that his comments about Greg Docherty missing Tuesday’s League One win over Crawley Town after the birth of his child were “tongue in cheek”.

The Scottish midfielder was not at Broadfield Stadium in midweek due to his partner having their baby.

Karoy Anderson replaced Docherty in the starting line up.

Jones was smiling when asked about the absence of the summer signing. He said at the time: “I don’t know who books a caesarean the day before a game but, hey, that is what happens. Congratulations to him, we’re glad everything is good but we’ve won a few games without him – it could be to his detriment.”

Docherty will be back in the Charlton squad for Saturday’s home game against Wigan Athletic with Jones, speaking in the pre-match press conference, quick to clarify that his midweek words were meant in jest.

The Welsh boss said: “It was another tongue in cheek comment I made the other day – me and Doc spoke prior, two weeks before. Could he arrange to do that? He did because that was the only availability. I wasn’t being that he casually arranged that and didn’t think anything to do with the game.

“It was the only time the surgeon was available – so we booked it in there.

“It was a tongue in cheek comment that when he has missed games lately, Karoy Anderson has come in, done brilliantly and we’ve won the game – so it gives you a dilemma, which sometimes could be to the skipper’s detriment.

“But the skipper is so vital to us, in terms of how he is around the place and what he does. It kills him to miss games, miss training or miss anything. He wants to be involved. He is back and chomping at the bit.

“It’s not like Karoy comes in for him. We purposely allowed three central midfielders to move out of the football club because we felt we had five that could really, really compete and we knew we would need those and be able to call upon them all the time.

“All we have done is a bit of rotation in there – that was enforced rotation and Karoy was excellent.”

Josh Edwards came off in the second half with a groin niggle.

“It’s just stiffness really and fatigue,” said Jones. “It wasn’t a mechanism, so it wasn’t a really bad pull or anything. Just a fatigue one.

“He does massive distances and plays on the edge all the time, in terms of his athleticism, desire to get forward and cover. Physically he is a real specimen.

“We’ll assess that over the next day or two and see the best way to move forward.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD