Charlton boss Jose Riga says he had little choice but to offer Alou Diarra a start immediately after returning from injury.

The French midfielder had been ruled out for more than two months after picking up an injury on Boxing Day.

Diarra returned to full training a couple of weeks ago but on Thursday Riga said a toe infection meant he was unable to take part in some sessions.

Despite this, the 34-year-old started in the 4-3 loss against Reading and Riga said in an ideal situation his return would have been more progressive.

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He said: “We know what he can bring. His fitness is of course, not at the top.

“In our situation we have no choice.

“In the perfect situation we would allow him to take 30 minutes and bring him in progressively, but we were not able to.

“But I was really trusting him and based on his will and quality he can face the game.”

Riga, 58, was impressed by the returning star but said he was not as sharp due to his lay-off.

He added: “Alou did very well but of course without game-time, he wasn’t as sharp as he wanted to be during the game.”