Exeter's Niskanen available for Charlton game

Ilmari Niskanen joined Exeter City from Dundee United for an undisclosed fee in 2023

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has confirmed Ilmari Niskanen is available for Saturday's game against Charlton Athletic this weekend following his charge of drink driving.

In a statement published on Thursday on the club website, Exeter revealed Niskanen was charged with the alleged offence on the A30 near Honiton on 6 February by Devon and Cornwall Police.

When asked by BBC Radio Devon whether the 27-year-old Finnish forward could feature for the Grecians at The Valley, Caldwell simply replied, "Yes."

Niskanen has been bailed to appear before Exeter Magistrates' Court on 24 February and the club said it is treating the matter "with the utmost gravity".

No midweek games 'needed' for Exeter - Caldwell

Since the 1-0 win at Cambridge last Saturday, Exeter have been able to enjoy a full week's rest before their trip to Charlton.

The game against the U's was their seventh in 28 days and Caldwell said the increased training the Grecians have been able to do has been welcome.

"It's been probably needed. We've got a couple of weeks now where we can do some work on the training pitch," the 42-year-old said.

"We had it before the (Nottingham) Forest game where we saw the impact that it has when we have time to work with the players for different aspects of our game.

"It was more of the same this week. A four-day build-up and a really difficult match at Charlton."

No fresh injuries from last weekend is another boost for the former Celtic and Scotland defender, who has 29 players available for the game at Charlton.

Caldwell also revealed defender Pierce Sweeney is "two or three" weeks away from returning to selection after recovering from a calf injury.

"Our squad's actually quite big at the moment. We're having to make big decisions not just in team selection but in squad as well for people to make the bench," he said.

"It's a really good thing for me but a really difficult thing for us to try and pick.

"The training becomes more competitive, the competition for places is really good.

Exeter are currently 17th in the League One table on 35 points, while play-off chasing Charlton are seventh on 50.