Charlton Athletic defender Lewis Page has vowed to keep working hard in his injury recovery after suffering a further setback while playing for the Addicks' Under-23 side on Wednesday afternoon.

Page has not made a competitive appearance for Lee Bowyer's side since first suffering his injury back in October 2018, and he has now been dealt a further blow during his latest Under-23 outing as he was forced to substituted off after just 12 minutes.

The 23-year-old has seriously struggled with injuries since joining Charlton from West Ham in January 2017, with his fitness issues meaning he has never managed to complete a full season at the club without nursing an injury.

Page had looked set to play a key role for the South Londoners this campaign as he formed part of the club's pre-season preparations, but he then suffered a setback in July and this latest development suggests he is still some way from fitness.

The left-back has now

/B7qW8GHhS-H/?igshid=6uy2q7dbgspf"> taken to Instagram to share a downhearted message following this fresh injury blow, but he also claimed that he is fully committed to working his way back to full fitness in the near future.

Page has only registered 27 appearances for the London side since his arrival three years ago, and he has now not managed a run in the side since starting each of the club's 11 league matches at the start of their promotion-winning season in 2018/19.

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The Verdict

There would have high expectations when Charlton completed the signing of Page back in 2017 and, while he has shown many glimpses of his quality since then, there can be no denying that his progress has been significantly hindered by injuries.

The 23-year-old's quality means he would be a certain regular in the Charlton side at present if he had managed to avoid injury, and this latest blow would have been particularly hard for him to take given the length of his lay-off.

It is now important that Charlton remain patient with Page as he attempts to bounce back from this latest setback, with there being no doubt that the club have a serious talent on their hands if he can eventually shake off his injury woes.

I can't really see Page making much of a contribution for the Addicks this campaign given the clear extent of his problems, so he would be better off targeting a comeback next season as he still has plenty of time to build a successful career in the game.