Josh Vela missed Carlisle United’s defeat at Charlton Athletic with a knee injury that will now be further assessed.

Manager Paul Simpson said the midfielder was ruled out after failing to train in the two days prior to the game at The Valley.

Simpson said the experienced January signing may have damaged ligaments or cartilage but United are optimistic it is not a serious problem.

But Vela will be monitored ahead of Tuesday’s home clash with Barnsley, after Dylan McGeouch took his place in south London.

“He wasn’t fit to play,” said Simpson of 30-year-old Vela.

“He had a problem with his knee, which he reported on Thursday.

“I don’t really know where it’s come from because nothing’s happened in training.

“We think it’s medial ligament or maybe cartilage. We don’t think it’s a bad one at this moment – we hope it’s not a bad one.

“We were hoping it was going to settle down. It certainly settled down towards the end of the week, but I wasn't prepared to risk it in this [game] because he couldn't train on Thursday or Friday.

“We were hoping he was going to run today back in Carlisle but I’m led to believe that hasn’t happened, so we’ve got to wait and see on that one.

“Whether he can be fit for Tuesday, we've just got to wait and see.”

In Vela’s absence, former Celtic man McGeouch came in for his first start since December.

News and Star: Dylan McGeouch came in for Vela at CharltonDylan McGeouch came in for Vela at Charlton (Image: Richard Parkes)

He played the majority of the game as relegation-bound Carlisle fell to a tenth defeat in 11 at the hands of Nathan Jones’ Addicks to go 16 points adrift of safety with ten games to go.

“I thought Dylan came in and did really well for us today,” said Simpson.

“He’s a good footballer, he keeps the ball moving for us.

“We’re trying to get a bit more dominance in in terms of possession, [and] he certainly helped in that today.

"And he's trained really well recently. So that's why he deserves that opportunity.”