Charlton Athletic manager Ben Garner has revealed that winger Charlie Kirk's absence from his side's 1-1 draw with Forest Green on Tuesday was simply a selection decision.

Having spent the second half of last season on loan with Blackpool, the 24-year-old returned to Charlton in the summer.

Despite the Seasiders holding the option to buy as part of that loan deal, and other clubs being credited with an interest, Kirk has remained a Charlton player beyond the end of the window.

Indeed, the winger has also produced some impressive performances on the pitch for the Addicks since the start of this season.

Prior to Tuesday night's match, Kirk had featured in every league game Charlton had played since the start of the campaign, scoring once and providing two assists in that time.

However, the former Crewe man did not feature in the matchday squad named by Garner for Tuesday's draw with Forest Green, and it seems that was not down to any particular fitness issue.

Asked why Kirk was not included in the squad for that match, the Charlton boss told The South London Press“He just wasn’t selected tonight. He trained this afternoon with Terell [Thomas] and Mandela [Egbo]. All three did really well and trained hard.

“But the squad tonight was based on the training over the past seven to 10 days – performance in training. Charlie now comes back into the reckoning for Saturday.

“He’s got wonderful talent and he’s shown that at the start of the season. There are areas of the game he needs to add to.

"What I want to see from Charlie is a real consistency and determination to make the most of his talent, because I think he is really talented lad, who can do great things in the game.”

That draw with Forest Green has left Charlton 14th in the League One table, with ten points from eight league games so far this season.

The Verdict

This does feel like a fair enough explanation from Garner on the absence of Kirk.

Ultimately, he can only name 18 players in each matchday squad, so there are certain individuals that are going to have to miss out in each game that is played.

In this case it was Kirk, and in Corey Blackett-Taylor and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, he was still starting two very strong wide options on Tuesday night, so his decision was understandable.

Of course, there are still plenty of games remaining this season, so you imagine there is still a lot to come from Kirk over the next few months.