Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer has offered an update on Ryan Inniss as the defender bids to up his match sharpness now after recovering from injury.

The centre-half has been missing for a large portion of the season and the Addicks have missed his presence at the back after he started the campaign so well and helped them go on a fine unbeaten run that included several clean sheets.

Since, things have gotten a little tough for the Addicks and they have seen their home form in particular drop below where it needs to be if they want to make the play-offs, so they'll hope Inniss' eventual return can help them with that.

Bowyer, though, has suggested he won't rush the defender's return to action:

“Ryan is back with us.

"Next week we’ll be looking to play him in an U23 game and see how he goes from there.

“We can’t go mad with him. He has been out for a long time.

“It has been difficult for him [being sidelined for an extended period] and it’s been difficult for everyone because he did really well. Then we lost him and then we struggled. He has been a big player out for us.”

The Verdict

Inniss was a quick hit at Charlton at the start of the season with him heading anything in the air and regularly throwing his body in the way of shots.

He could ping raking passes deep from defence, too, and having those qualities back in the side will surely help Charlton as they bid to make the play-offs.

Clean sheets against Wigan and Oxford will have restored some confidence in the side defensively, meanwhile, and now it's time to right some wrongs at home against Northampton on Tuesday.