Charlie Daniels did not play for Colchester United in their 2-0 home defeat to Barrow this weekend due to needing more training time, Head Coach Hayden Mullins has revealed.

The 35-year-old defender was involved for the U's for the first time after recovering from Covid-19 when he came on as a 69th minute substitute in their 2-0 defeat away at Forest Green Rovers last weekend.

However, this weekend, Daniels was not in the Colchester squad that was defeated 2-0 at home to Barrow.

Speaking after the defeat, Colchester United Head Coach Hayden Mullins explained the reasoning behind his decision to omit Daniels from the squad.

"Charlie's been back but he didn't have too much training time," Mullins explained via the Daily Gazette.

"We left him out this weekend, just to get a little bit more training in him."

Daniels' omission from the squad means he has not started a game for the U's since the 11th of December, with Cameron Coxe preferred at left and left wing back in recent weeks.

Prior to this, Daniels had been a regular for Colchester, starting in 17 of his 19 appearances since joining the U's in the summer.

Daniels has had a stellar career, making 500 appearances in the professional game for a host of clubs including Chesterfield, Leyton Orient, Gillingham, Shrewsbury Town, Portsmouth and Colchester United.

His most successful years came whilst playing for AFC Bournemouth, where he made 249 appearances across nine seasons for the club.

Daniels journey with AFC Bournemouth started in League One and culminated with five seasons in the Premier League, in which Daniels appeared 129 times.

The Verdict

Charlie Daniels absence from Saturday's squad makes complete sense given that he had recently contracted Covid-19.

Despite playing the previous weekend, we are well aware of the effect Covid-19 can have on fitness, given that it is a respiratory disease.

With more time to train and re-gain full fitness, Daniels will no doubt be back in the Colchester United squad attempting to win his place back from Cameron Coxe sooner rather than later.