Charlton fans like nothing more than seeing one of their own youngsters come good. The academy production line is functioning as well as ever, and Saturday was a special day for 22-year-old George Lapslie.

For many, he came of age in the Luton game. His introduction early in the second-half changed the course of the match.

He was everywhere. He won a penalty, scored his first league goal, and but for another imperious 90 minutes from two goal Lyle Taylor, he would have been man of the match.

It has been a frustrating season for Lapslie who has suffered recurring hamstring problems. The problems appear to be finally sorted, and like Chris Solly, Lapslie was full of praise for new physio, Danny Murphy.

Murphy was Gareth Bale’s personal physio in Madrid, and Solly was unstinting in his praise of Murphy’s methods.

He was brought into the medical team to help with the chronic number of injuries the squad was picking up. Thus far, it seems an excellent move.
Lapslie could return to the starting line-up at Hillsborough on Wednesday.

His boundless energy will be a real fillip for Lee Bowyer as the season goes into its vital run in phase.

Here are the comments Lapslie made after the Luton game:

“It makes it worse, when the team is struggling. At times I thought we played well but we just weren’t getting the points.

“I’m not saying now I’m back we’re going to start getting points but it’s going to be a slog and we’ve all got to come together and try and get us to safety.

‎”I’ve done my hamstring tendon three times in a row, it was a bit of a mess-up the first two times.

“We didn’t really know what it was but the third image came back clearer and we knew it was a hamstring tendon and its been about five months now, on and off, just grinding in the gym.

‎”It’s been hard work but for moments like that it’s worth it. Contributing to a win is always nice but it still would have been just as good if I didn’t come on today and we got three points.

“The main thing for everyone in the squad is that we got the three points. If we lost to them, they were only three points away from us so they would only be one game away from us”.