Michael Appleton has issued a team news update ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Reading at The Valley.
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The Head Coach revealed Terell Thomas, James Abankwah, Michael Hector and Karoy Anderson have returned from international duty unscathed, with the latter earning his senior Jamaica debut.
“It was nice to see the lads who did go on international duty come back with a clean bill of health,” Appleton said.
“Karoy is obviously in a really, really good place,” he added. “It helps having Hecs [Michael Hector] there as well who is very experienced. It was good for Karoy because obviously he’s been slightly unfortunate to miss out a little bit of late, but that’s because of the positive performances of other players.
"There’s going to be three or four very, very good players most weeks now, if we keep players fit, that are going to miss out on the squad. If you’re going to be successful in any way, shape or form or be competitive, that’s what you need.”
Appleton provided an update on Harry Isted and complimented Sam Walker, who has arrived on a short-term deal until January to provide cover in the goalkeeping department.
“Harry is going to be out for a while anyway,” he explained. “Whether he returns before January or not, I think the likelier chance is that he is going to and probably around December sometime - I don’t want to put Coey [Adam Coe, Head Physiotherapist] and the lads under too much pressure!
“All I would say is Sam has come in and been outstanding. We’ve got Ash who has played in the games and played his part by making big saves at important times, and I hope he continues to do that. Sam is showing to the players and the staff in training that he’s more than capable.”
The boss feels Saturday may come too soon for Panutche Camará, who has returned to group training at Sparrows Lane this week.
“No massive sort of timescales, but Pan is one of those type of athletes that can deal with being thrown in at the deep end a little bit,” he said. “Saturday has come round really quickly for him so that might be too much. What he has done over the last three or four days, certainly working with the players, is show his capabilities and what he can bring to the team as and when we feel is the right time.
“I’ve come up against him as an opposition manager in the past when he was at Plymouth, but this is the first time I’ve had real close eyes on him and I’ve been impressed.”
