WANDERERS will make a late call on Carlos Mendes Gomes’s involvement at Charlton Athletic this weekend.
Ian Evatt confirmed that the former Luton Town man has now returned to full training and that he had no further injury problems after Tuesday night’s dramatic win against Wycombe.
Kyle Dempsey (back) is still unavailable but Evatt has not ruled out making a few changes to his side to keep things fresh as his side look to keep up a good record at The Valley.
“Kyle is still one or two weeks away,” he said. “Everyone else, touch wood, is available and came through the game really well.
“Whether or not Carlos is fit enough to feature, I haven’t quite made up my mind yet but he is back in training now and heading in the right direction. He is fine, so that is really good news.
“We are getting back to full strength now, so having the ability to change the team according to opposition is a real plus, especially when you are playing away from home twice in a week.”
Evatt will be pitting his wits against Charlton boss Michael Appleton, a man who once managed him in his playing days at Blackpool. And he foresees an entertaining contest.
“It’s a big club, a big challenge, and they have a manager who I have a lot of respect for and played under,” he said. “He is a good coach who will have a clear plan for us, as well as for his team, and they have been on a good run at home.
“I haven’t been surprised one bit at the results they have had since he came in. They had a little setback on Tuesday night but he will want them to respond in the right way and that will make things challenging for us.
“But I think it is a game that can theoretically suit us. I think it will be an open, expansive game and we need to make sure we play at our tempo and not theirs.”
After reviewing the 4-2 win at Wycombe, Evatt also felt that his team were slightly hard done by with some of the criticism levelled at them in the second half before Eoin Toal and Aaron Morley’s late goals earned the points.
“I look back at the game with no emotion, as always, and it was a great goal they scored after half time – I don’t think there was a great deal we could have done a great deal to avoid it,” he said.
“But even after that, for all they had more of the ball, we didn’t really feel our goal was under siege, or that Nathan Baxter had too many important saves to make.
“Other than the set play, which can happen at Wycombe, I thought we dealt with everything really well. Then we went through the gears again when they pegged us back, which is great credit to the players.”
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