Brentford midfield pair Sam Saunders and Lewis McLeod will not be rushed back into action, boss Lee Carsley has said.
Both played 90 minutes in Monday’s Under-21 game against Crystal Palace, with Saunders (pictured) scoring twice.
But neither is expected to be named in the squad for the Championship match with Charlton on Saturday.
Saunders has made one brief substitute appearance for the first team this season, having injured himself in the League Two play-off final while on loan at Wycombe, while McLeod is yet to make his debut for the Bees after a £1m move from Rangers in January.
Carsley said: “They’ve both been out for a while so there’s no pressure on them to come back in.
“When they are back in, they’ll be a massive lift for us. But I don’t want injured players to use the first team for rehab.
“It’s important that when they come back in, they’re ready to go.”
Charlton have picked up just two points from their last eight games, with manager Guy Luzon said to be under pressure.
Brentford, meanwhile, earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they won 2-0 at Wolves on Wednesday.
On Charlton, Carsley said: “They’re having a bit of a tough time at the moment. We know how that feels but you’ve seen over the last week that it doesn’t take a lot to get your confidence back.
“We’ll be giving them the respect they deserve and the manager the respect he deserves, because they’ve got some really good players.
“It’s important that we don’t take a backward step against Charlton, that we keep moving forward and keep trying to be positive.”
This post was last modified on 24/10/2015
