Charlton Manager Lee Bowyer is looking forward to welcoming back Darren Pratley after the midfielder missed Saturday's draw with Cardiff City.
The 34-year-old was suspended for that game after picking up five yellow cards but is expected to start Tuesday's visit to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton Town.
With the Addicks missing nearly a team of players through injury, Bowyer will be able to rotate less players than he normally would for a midweek game, so he’s pleased to have a fresh Pratley returning to the side.
“We’re going to need all his experience tonight,” he explained.
“In the middle of the park there he’s going to have to be the leader. It’s vital that we’ve got him back tonight. He’s had a bit of a rest so that is someone we can bring in to freshen it up.
“Preparations have been going well but obviously losing players makes decisions hard. Josh Cullen is out now as well, another big player that we’ve lost. It make things hard, so we’ve just got to try and adapt.
“Tonight, it’s not like we can make loads of changes, like I have done in the past when we’ve played a mid-week game. Sometimes for mid-week games I’ll change five or six players, so you’ve got players that are fresh but we don’t have that option at the moment.
“So for the players that are fit, it is all about the recovery and to be fair they looked good yesterday in training.”
Luton currently sit 22nd in the Championship and Bowyer is expecting a congested game at Kenilworth Road. He said: “They’re very good at home, they’re pitch is really tight. Watching their last few games, everything is congested. Again I think it’s going to be a bit of a battle. There is not much room to play expansive football, so we’re going to have to move the ball quickly and defend our box properly.
“It’s one where we’ll have to grind out a result but we’ve done that many, many times. As long as we do the right things, what we’ve been practicing, then we’ll be fine.”