Zach Mitchell will undergo a Charlton fitness test to determine whether the on-loan St Johnstone defender can return to Perth for Saturday’s win or bust clash with Ross County.
The centre-half hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring against Dundee United last month, with the initial fear being his season was over.
But a scan revealed the damage wasn’t serious and Mitchell was able to do some light training before heading back to London to be assessed by his parent club’s medical staff.
Saints boss, Simo Valakari, completely understands that Charlton won’t take any risks with a promising young player who is likely to be in first team contention for them next season.
And an unlikely Premiership comeback, which would be a huge boost to Valakari, now rests on whether Mitchell’s hamstring stands up well to sprinting.
“Charlton are happy with Zach’s progress,” said Valakari. “It’s a good sign.
“They will strength test him and do sprints.
“Then we will see where we are.”
Sam McClelland plans
Meanwhile, Valakari is keen to see another injured centre-back, Sam McClelland, on the training ground when Saints return for pre-season training next month.
It’s been a long road back, but his recuperation should be completed in time for the start of 2025/26 preparations.
McClelland is out of contract this summer, however Valakari wants to see the Chelsea youth academy product on the grass to make an informed judgment and will speak to the defender over the next couple of weeks.
“I would like to see Sam be with us in pre-season,” said the Finn.
“I have heard a lot of good things about him – how well he did with Dundee United and starting this season with us before he got injured.
“It’s one of the things we need to think about in the upcoming weeks.
“Of course, we’ll speak with Sam to see how he feels about the situation.”
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