This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness.
As revealed by Lee Bowyer in his pre-match press conference, Lyle Taylor is 100% ruled out of this weekend’s south London derby against Millwall.
Some Charlton fans on Twitter thought that the 42-year-old was lying when he said that the Montserrat international wouldn’t be ready for this Saturday’s clash, but Bowyer said: “If we could have had him on the bench and brought him on for 10 minutes, then I would, but he’s not fit.”
Unfortunate for the 29-year-old
Bowyer went on to say that the target for Taylor’s return was the 1-0 defeat to Preston last weekend, although that match came too soon for the former Wimbledon striker.
Taylor has had an injection, and the Addicks are hoping to have their five-goal striker back in training in the run-up to the game against Cardiff on the 23rd November, after the international break.
Time for Macauley Bonne to step up
With Taylor now looking extremely unlikely not to make any kind of cameo at The Den, the onus is on Macauley Bonne to deliver the goods – or at least improve on his anonymous performance against Preston at The Valley last time out.
In that 1-0 loss, the man with five goals in seven Championship starts was ineffective, to say the least. Bonne had the least touches out of any player to start the game – apart from Daniel Johnson, who went off injured after 30 minutes – touching the ball just 28 times.
The 24-year-old also failed to have a single shot, let alone a shot on target, and also had three unsuccessful touches – the second-least of any player on the pitch.
Taylor is the side’s talisman and he may have inspired something special even in a short space of time against Millwall, but with the 29-year-old now definitely out, Bonne has no other option but to improve on last week’s abject showing.