Charlton boss on Michael Hector absence at Gillingham and provides fitness assessment on new boy Panutche Camara

Charlton Athletic manager Dean Holden has explained why Michael Hector did not feature in last night’s 3-1 friendly win at Gillingham.

The former Fulham, Chelsea and Reading centre-back was an absentee for the match in Kent.

But Holden expects Hector to be back and get more minutes in Saturday’s fixture at Wealdstone.

“He just felt something – he got a kick in the Leyton Orient game,” said the Addicks boss. “There was no point risking him here tonight. He’ll train Thursday and probably get some minutes at the weekend.”

Charlton signed Panutche Camara on loan from Ipswich yesterday and the midfielder, formerly on Dulwich, Crawley and Plymouth’s books, was in the stand to watch his new charges.

“He had a frustrating time last season with a couple of hernias,” said Holden. “He did the first two weeks of pre-season with Ipswich’s first team. I asked if he was in the top three and he said: ‘No, I was in the top two’. He’s obviously fit, in terms of running. The third week was a bit of a mess. Ipswich went on tour and there was talk about him coming to us, so he stayed behind and trained with a smaller group.

“He has still got himself in good nick. He has only played 45 minutes and scored a goal in that game. We’ll be looking to get some minutes into him.”

PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS