CHARLTON skipper Matt Holland has spoken of his frustration at missing the early part of the season through injury.

The 32-year-old, who was ever-present in the team last term, has enjoyed a relatively injury-free career. And he admitted finding it hard being on the sidelines for most of the opening two months of the campaign.

Holland sustained an ankle injury in the early stages of Charlton’s opening day 4-0 defeat at Bolton and did not return to first team action until coming on as a substitute against Arsenal on October 2.

He was back into the starting line-up in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle a fortnight ago, and is now hoping his and Charlton’s season can gain momentum.

“The kids were desperate for me to get back playing again because I have been shouting at them at home,” he joked.

“I have been a nightmare to live with for two months. It is lovely to be back involved with the first team because it has been a frustrating start for me. I was desperate to return and was just pleased to be back in the team against Newcastle.”

Holland pulled up with the injury in the fifth minute against Bolton and was substituted immediately after the Trotters’ first goal. He knew it was a bad injury at the time, but did not expect to be on the treatment table for so long.

He said: “I have had bad ankle injuries before and been back within a couple of weeks so, I still didn’t think it would be as long as it was. Unfortunately, there were complications and it ended up being longer which was extremely frustrating.”

Even from the sidelines Holland has found it hard to put his finger on why Charlton have had such an inconsistent start to the season.

He said: “The home form has been very good results-wise. We haven’t played as well as we would have liked, but we have had a lot of new faces and it takes time to settle. I found that last season because you have new surroundings and new people to get used to.

“We’ve had a few injuries as well with myself, Shaun Bartlett and Mark Fish being out since the start of the season. Hopefully, we will now start to get a bit of continuity.”

With Holland and Bartlett back in the squad, and Fish on the road to full fitness, Charlton are starting to have competition for places throughout the team.

Holland added: “Teams do suffer injuries and suspensions, particularly at this stage of the season, so it is important that you have everyone fighting fit, raring to go and looking to get into the team. I think the signs are there that things are starting to turn round and hopefully that will continue in the coming weeks.”