Derby County have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their League One clash against Charlton Athletic on Saturday after Liam Rosenior confirmed that James Chester will not be involved.

The Lowdown: Chester’s setback

The 33-year-old was released by Championship side Stoke City earlier in the summer, with the Rams quick to snap him up and add the free agent to their defensive ranks on a one-year deal.

The defender enjoyed some promising performances throughout pre-season, but has consistently been affected by an achilles injury which saw him miss last weekend’s curtain-raiser vs Oxford United, and it sounds like the boss will have to be without his new summer signing once again.

The Latest: Rosenior’s injury update

Speaking during his pre-match interview with RamsTV, Rosenior revealed that Chester will not be part of the match-day squad against Charlton, but gave a more promising update on David McGoldrick.

As quoted by Derby’s official website, he said:

"James Chester and David McGoldrick are back on course. Didzy is doing really well in terms of his recovery. He is ahead of schedule which makes me happy but I’m not going to rush them both. As much as you want to win every game and have them involved, I want us to put us in the strongest position in March.

“James Chester is a no for Saturday, Didzy is touch and go but I won’t risk him unless it’s 100% right for him and us.”

The Verdict: Massive loss

Rosenior has been busy in the transfer market this summer, making a real statement of intent by signing the likes of Conor Hourihane and James Collins, but Chester, hailed a ‘fantastic athlete’ by former Wales manager Chris Coleman, not coming into contention for the Addicks fixture will come as a hammer blow.

The 38-year-old will want all of his new additions at his disposal so that the team can start gelling as quickly as possible to get on the front foot, but this is now a setback in his plans.

The interim manager will now be hoping that his side can build on last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Oxford by putting in another solid display without Chester at The Valley.