Charlton V Middlesbrough at The Valley - Match Preview




Taylor hoping for Addicks recall

Vice-captain Matt Taylor is pushing for a start as Charlton host Middlesbrough.

The 31-year-old defender has not made an appearance since August after suffering a foot injury, but returned as an unused substitute last weekend and came through unscathed in a midweek Under-21 game.

But Dale Stephens remains a doubt with a hamstring problem he picked up in the warm-up ahead of the draw against Leeds.

Ricardo Fuller has not yet recovered from his hamstring injury and will not play a part against in-form Boro.

Yann Kermorgant is not expected back until the new year as he sits out with an ankle injury while Rhoys Wiggins has not yet returned to training as he continues to struggle with a foot issue.

Boro striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is in line to make an earlier than expected return to first-team action.

The former Everton and Coventry hit-man sustained a knee injury in training three weeks ago and was initially ruled out for a month.

But the 23-year-old trained with the first-team on Thursday and barring any adverse reaction is set for a place on Tony Mowbray's bench at the Valley.

He is likely to be joined in the squad by Merouane Zemmama after he was an unused substitute in Boro's Capital One Cup victory over north-east rivals Sunderland in midweek following a hamstring injury.

Luke Williams (hip-flexor) and Kevin Thomson (calf) have also recovered suitably to come into contention, however Ishmael Miller, Seb Hines and Marvin Emnes are major doubts.

Source: PA

Source: PA