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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness
Charlton could well be without their star man Lyle Taylor for the game against Birmingham this weekend, after the forward suffered an injury while on international duty with Montserrat.
Taylor, the Addicks’ top scorer so far this term with five goals, played in his nation’s CONCACAF Nations League win over the Dominican Republic on Saturday but missed Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Saint Lucia.
Taylor returned to south London after cutting his international commitments short due to the injury.
How bad is it?
Not too bad it seems, although Bowyer could not give confirmation on whether or not the 29-year-old would be available for this weekend’s game.
The 42-year-old said: “It’s just a precaution.
“We are going to try and get him out training tomorrow and see how he responds to that.”
While that doesn’t sound like the worst update in the world, it doesn’t appear as if the 29-year-old is a surefire bet to appear against Birmingham.
Chance for Tomer Hemed to shine
Former Brighton striker Tomer Hemed joined the south Londoners this summer after the Seagulls agreed to terminate his contract at the Amex Stadium, due to the 32-year-old’s desire to play regular football.
Two substitute appearances for the Addicks – 45 minutes on his debut against Brentford and nine minutes against Reading – is all that the Israel international has managed so far, with Bowyer saying towards the end of August that Hemed needs to get a bit more match fitness under his belt before he can start games.
However, having had a full international break to work on his fitness, one would assume that Hemed is ready for a start in Taylor’s absence.
There is no doubting Hemed’s pedigree at this level. He notched 17 goals for Brighton in the 2015/16 season, and also netted 11 goals as the Seagulls won promotion back in the 2016/17 campaign.
He has netted 93 goals across his career and has an impressive 17 goals in 38 appearances for his country – he certainly knows where the back of the net is. Last season, while on loan at QPR, he scored seven goals in the Championship.
With star man Taylor potentially out injured, this could be Hemed’s chance to shine from the first whistle.
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