Charlton will be without star man Tariqe Fosu for up to five weeks.

The Addicks winger was only fit enough for the bench in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with MK Dons after injuring his thigh.

Fosu picked up a knock against Portsmouth two weeks ago, but it was not thought to be serious. However, he is now set to miss most of the busy Christmas period.

The injury comes as a massive blow for Charlton. The 22-year-old, a summer signing from Reading, is the club’s top scorer with seven goals.

Ahead of tonight’s clash with 22nd-placed Rochdale, Addicks boss Karl Robinson told Valley Pass: “We’ve got one or two injuries that everyone knows about now.

“Tariqe could be a long one now – he could be out for four to five weeks. Billy [Clarke] is three weeks away so we’ll be without them for a short period of time.

“But still, we’ve got Mark Marshall and Ben Reeves back so that’s the thing for us.

“They’ve trained well, they’re in good spirits and they’re full of confidence.

“We’re going to play against a very good Rochdale team.”