Lee Bowyer on Charlton injury situation and the pressure of Saturday’s clash against fellow strugglers Barnsley
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Sam Field is set to boost Charlton Athletic’s midfield options for Saturday’s vital Championship clash with Barnsley.
The on-loan West Brom man has been out since injuring his knee in October with his comeback date slipping after he suffered a setback just as he was due to be available again.
But both Field and Chuks Aneke could return as the Addicks look to pile more pressure on drop rivals Barnsley.
“Sam has been training with us for a couple of weeks now,” said Charlton manager Lee Bowyer. “We’ll assess him today and tomorrow.
“Chuks played 70 minutes the other day for the U23s. I’ll see how he goes today, regarding the squad.
“We’ve got most players back but some need training first. That’s been the problem – we’ve had six or seven come back at the same time but they are all limited to 30 minutes each and I can only make three subs!
“It’s about trying to blend them all in. Getting them all fully back will make my job a lot easier – it will mean I can rotate. The next month is going to be a tough month because there are a lot of games. We’re going to need the full squad.
“Macauley Bonne is outside running and kicking balls. He’ll be about a week or 10 days, I guess.”
Charlton dropped to 21st in the Championship after midweek matches and are four points clear of Wigan. Barnsley can close the gap between themselves and the Addicks to three points if they were to win at the weekend.
“We have 17 games to go and our season is not just defined by one game,” said Bowyer. “But we can make it better or more difficult mentally if things didn’t go right.
“We have got bodies coming back and we will get stronger as it goes, from now on in. The weekend is big – but every game is big. Fulham the other night was big. We try to win every game.
“We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us. I hear there is going to be a big crowd at the weekend – they will help. I’m looking forward to it.”