Charlton defender Cory Gibbs was hit with yet another bout of bad luck in a reserve match with Brighton, breaking three metatarsal bones in his left foot to further delay his debut with the club.

The US star seemed near the end of a long comeback trail from a knee injury after working all 90 minutes of a recent friendly with Ipswich Town, but was forced to limp off in the first half on Monday.

Gibbs is now expected to miss more time, though the club won't know how much until the results of a Wednesday scan come back.

"He's gone to see a specialist, so we won't know (how long he'll be out) until next week," Charlton press liaison Marc Harrington told American Soccer Daily.

Despite frustrating knee problems that have kept him out of first team action since signing for the Addicks last summer, the team are not throwing in the towel on Gibbs.

"Cory's got a bad injury and we're going to have to take our time with him," Addicks manager Alan Pardew told the club website.

"He's been very unfortunate at this club, but the players and staff will all rally round and support him through this difficult time."