Southend United boss Phil Brown expects Stephen Hendrie to be fit to face Charlton Athletic

Hendrie hobbled off injured after 55 minutes against Rochdale on Saturday.

But Brown is confident the Scotsman will be fine to line up at the Valley.

“It was an impact injury with Stephen and you just have to wait for those to settle down, which is exactly what we’re doing,” said Brown.

“It’s been more than 48 hours now and it’s settled down quite a lot, which is good to see.

“It’s not a soft tissue issue like the others have suffered and the way it’s going I’m confident he will be fine to play at the weekend.”

Hendrie was Blues’ only fit senior defender for the 0-0 draw with Dale.

But Brown expects to have more defenders at his disposal at Charlton.

John White, who missed Saturday’s game with a groin problem, and Anton Ferdinand, who has a hamstring problem, have both returned to light training.

And the Shrimpers chief is hopeful they will both be available against the Addicks.

“John and Anton were both out training with the fitness coaches yesterday, which was obviously good to see,” said Brown.

“They both failed fitness tests ahead of the game with Rochdale but they are making good progress and hopefully they will be available for the Charlton game.”

Blues - who have not triumphed in their last six games - will face a stern test against the Addicks, who have started the season strongly.

Karl Robinson’s side are third in the League One standings with 12 points from their first five games.

But Brown will definitely be able to call on right-back Jason Demetriou for the game after he returned from international action with Cyprus.

“Jason played both games for Cyprus and he’s returned to us unscathed,” said Demetriou.

“His match fitness is still high and it’s good to have him back.”

Demetriou helped Cyprus fight back from 2-0 down to beat Bosnia 3-2 in a World Cup qualifier but he suffered late disappointment against Estonia, who triumphed 1-0 after scoring in injury time.