Charlton chief Nigel Adkins explains absence of key men during pre-season clash with Celtic
BY LOUIS MENDEZ
Charlton boss Nigel Adkins has revealed the reasons for the absence of a handful of his squad during the pre-season clash with Scottish giants Celtic.
Defenders Ryan Inniss and Adam Matthews, along with midfielder Alex Gilbey, were missing from the side beaten 2-1 at Dragon Park in south Wales as the Addicks stepped up preparations for their upcoming League One campaign.
Centre-half Inniss had a long spell on the sidelines due to a quad problem last season after initially impressing following his move across South London from Crystal Palace. Gilbey also missed a portion of the 2020-21 campaign with an Achilles complaint.
Adkins explained to the official club website: “Ryan’s been really, really good. Alex has just picked up a little bit of a niggle. We’ve got to nurture them, everyone can appreciate that. We’ve got really good medical and sports science staff here and we’ll get them right as soon as possible.
“I’m expecting Ryan bang on in full training on Monday. So that’s not a problem, he’s been doing a lot of stuff anyway. Again, you realise from the end of last season that we have to nurture him a little bit. We’ve got to be very sensible with what we do because he’s going to be a big player for us this season.
“[Matthews has] joined us late,” added the Charlton boss, with Welsh full-back Matthews only committing his future to the Valley outfit on Thursday.
“We do our physical testing. Akin [Famewo] was okay to start today for 45. Adam just needs a little bit more in his progression. He did a lot of running yesterday. He’s done some more work today. We thought that was beneficial for him instead of putting him at risk by playing the game.”
Chris Gunter is set to be given a further two weeks off before returning to training after his exploits with the Welsh national team during Euro 2020.
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