Charlton are precariously placed in 21st position in the Championship table, with only superior goal difference keeping them out of the bottom three.

The Addicks are level on points with Doncaster and play the Yorkshire outfit in a crucial game next Tuesday. But for the drainage problems at The Valley, Charlton would almost certainly be going into the match at the Keepmoat six points adrift of Rovers.

Doncaster were leading 3-1 when the game at The Valley was abandoned in August, but lost when the game was replayed.

The importance of the Doncaster match will be factored in when Chris Powell names his team for Oxford on Tuesday. Rhoys Wiggins will miss the game following his red card at the Riverside on Saturday, though Powell has said he will consider appealing the decision.

Though not a vicious challenge, Wiggins did slide in with his studs showing and caught Dean Whitehead. Such a tackle is deemed to be reckless and an automatic red card.

As well as the Oxford game, Wiggins will miss the following two matches. If the Addicks get past Oxford, the full-back will sit out the Huddersfield and Doncaster games, if they lose at the Kassam, he will miss the Doncaster and Wigan matches.

It is likely that Powell would have played Cedric Evina at Oxford and possibly Huddersfield too. An appeal would probably be heard early next week and if unsuccessful, Wiggins would be sidelined for the Wigan, Birmingham and Leeds games. If the Addicks progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the Leeds game would be postponed and Wiggins would miss the Queens Park Rangers game instead.

Given all of that, it would be foolish to lodge an appeal. Survival in the Championship is the number one priority and to achieve that, Charlton need to find some form quickly.

With 21 games left, they are 30 points short of last season’s safety mark. 52 points is the normally enough to survive in the Championship and to achieve that, they need symmetry in their remaining fixtures. Seven wins, seven draws and seven defeats would see them get to their goal.

How much flexibility Powell has in the market remains to be seen. Promising young Turkish left-winger, Anil Koc, became the the latest player to arrive from Standard Liege on loan on Saturday.

Reports suggest that striker, Yannis Mbombo, may be the next to make the switch from Liege. If so, he will the last, as regulations now only allow a maximum of four players to be loaned from the same club.

Another striker, Reza Ghoochannejhad, has been linked with a possible move to The Valley from Liege but it would have to be a permanent deal if Mbombo arrives on loan.

These moves are likely to restrict Powell’s options in the domestic market.