Chris Powell revealed on Tuesday morning that Charlton captain Johnnie Jackson’s injured hamstring will sideline him for ‘several weeks’.
The decision Powell now has to make is whether to go into the loan market before the window closes on Thursday. As well as being an ever present on the left this season, Jackson can play in central midfield, an area where Charlton are now short of numbers.
With Dale Stephens unavailable and Mikel Alonso seemingly not in Powell’s plans, only Bradley Pritchard is available to provide cover. Pritchard is young, inexperienced and more of an impact sub at this stage of his career.
Recent loan arrival, Hogan Ephraim, is the obvious replacement for Jackson but it would be a surprise if Powell did not move to bolster his squad before Thursday. With Simon Francis having joined Bournemouth and Paul Benson likely to link up with former Addicks boss Phil Parkinson at Bradford, there are gaps that need plugging with the busy Christmas schedule coming up. Powell admitted losing his skipper is a big blow:
“It’s a big loss to us, losing our captain for a number of weeks, but he will be in good hands and we know he will come back right as rain.
“It shows the value of a big squad. One of the reasons I moved for Hogan Ephraim was to cover that area and now it looks as if have to use him.
“Of course Johnnie will be a big miss but that’s why we have a squad. I look forward to see him fit and ready after the recovery process,” said the manager.
Club physio, Erol Umut, detailed the extent of the injury and what the recovery programme entailed:
“The scan on Monday revealed a significant hamstring injury, and he’ll be having treatment every single day to make sure there is no recurrence.
“The day-to-day programme is designed to build it back up to full strength and we aim to safely get Johnnie back to full health as soon as we can.”
Matt Taylor will wear the captain’s armband in Jackson’s absence with Danny Green favourite to take on penalty taking duties.
Hopefully, Jackson will return early in the New Year.