Fish ready to take plunge for Charlton

Charlton defender Mark Fish could play some part in Saturday’s Barclays Premiership match at Birmingham after recovering from conjunctivitis.

Fish missed the Addicks’ goalless draw with Southampton on Monday because of the eye problem but made a successful return during last night’s reserves game.

The South African, who had been handed the captain’s armband in the absence of club skipper Matt Holland, could now be restored to a defence which has leaked eight goals in two away matches so far this season.

Charlton boss Alan Curbishley said: “We weren’t aware of it at the time but we later discovered Mark was suffering from conjunctivitis during the Aston Villa match nearly four weeks ago.

“He hasn’t trained properly since the Man City game but he came through 70 minutes for the reserves last night and now has that little bit in the locker. He’ll come into contention for Saturday.”

The news surrounding Shaun Bartlett and Holland is also encouraging with both players expected to be training with the first team squad by Monday.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Holland has shaken off his ankle injury while South African striker Bartlett has recovered from ankle ligament damage.

Curbishley said: “Shaun has already started full training and if Matt gets through this weekend then he’ll be joining him on Monday. That’s good news for us.”