In her pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Aston Villa to Kingsmeadow tomorrow, Bompastor outlined that Charles had undergone surgery yesterday (Wednesday) and will be unavailable for tomorrow night’s match at Kingsmeadow.

‘Niamh dislocated her shoulder and had surgery yesterday,' Bompastor said. 'She’s fine, the surgery went well. She’s in a bit of pain but that’s normal. She’s fine mentally.

‘The rest of the squad is available. Erin is back, Catarina Macario is back. They will be in the squad and ready for the game tomorrow.’

The Blues will be without the services of midfielder Sophie Ingle for the foreseeable after it was confirmed earlier this week that the Welsh international sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in pre-season.

And ahead of Bompastor’s press conference this afternoon, it was confirmed that defender Jorja Fox has suffered the same injury while out on loan with Crystal Palace.

Our head coach said: ‘It’s sad. We feel gutted for Jorja, and we also had Sophie with her ACL. At the moment, we want to focus on supporting them.

‘It’s sad news for Jorja and for Sophie, and the club is making sure we support them. They are both important for us.’

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