Fleetwood sweat on McLaughlin injury

The defender was forced off after a late tackle by Charlton scorer Ricky Holmes in the 71st minute of the 1-1 draw, in which McLaughlin’s fellow wingback Amari’i Bell equalised during 10 minutes of added time.

Holmes was booked for the challenge but Town boss Uwe Rosler said the card could have been red.

Tom Robinson finally did brandish a red card to Charlton’s Nathan Byrne for a rash challenge on David Ball.

Rosler felt the referee had a good game in a feisty atmosphere despite failing to award Town a penalty when Devante Cole looked to have been tripped by Charlton keeper Declan Rudd.

Of McLaughlin’s condition, Rosler said: “Not good. It was a bad one. We need to wait and assess with a scan.

“It was a fighting game, an emotional game. The Valley is never easy. The crowd stood right behind their team. That has changed in the last weeks. The referee had a decent game but that foul was a really bad one.”

Town maintained fourth spot in League One and stretched their unbeaten run to 13 . Rosler added: “We didn’t start as a top team but we ended as a top team.

“They had a lot of the ball in the first half with no threat. Our goalkeeper had the first save to do after 36 minutes and from that corner they scored.

“We didn’t get the press right from the front or midfield but in the second half we changed. David Ball gave us a little bit of experience and we got it right, then we took over completely.

“At the end Karl (Robinson, Charlton boss) was asking, ‘How long?’ because we should have won it. We had three one-on-ones with the keeper, one was a penalty and we hit the post.

“I’m proud of my players coming to The Valley for the first time, especially their second-half performance.

“Karl came up with a tactical shape that was asking questions of us, and in the first half the players were a little unsure who should press. We tried to double up instead of being brave and going one v one. We did that second half and that is how we came back into the game.

“Credit to Charlton for their patience and possession, but when you see the number and calibre of chances we should have won. First half was a little bit of a step back but the second half was two steps forward.”