Bury vs Charlton - Bury set to turn to Ben Williams after Chris Kirkland exit

Bury summer signing Ben Williams is set to be handed his debut against Charlton after fellow goalkeeper Chris Kirkland terminated his contract at the Sky Bet League One club on the eve of the season opener.

Kirkland had joined on a one-year deal in June, but informed the club this week that he wanted to end his deal because he "needs some time and space away from the game".

Defender Leon Barnett, another new signing, may be short of match fitness but other potential debutants include Greg Leigh, Neil Danns, Anthony Kay, Niall Maher, Zeli Ismail and Nicky Clark.

Forward George Miller is set to miss the first six weeks of the season after suffering ankle ligament damage in training.

New Charlton manager Russell Slade will wait for developments from Lee Novak's assessment before selecting the team for his first competitive game in charge.

Charlton's squad has changed significantly, with Novak among their new arrivals, but a broken hand will rule him out unless it is determined he can play with a cast.

Patrick Bauer has returned to training but is short of match fitness so is unlikely to play. Alou Diarra has been ruled out for the coming two to three months because of a broken foot, while an Achilles injury means Ahmed Kashi remains out until at least October.

Harry Lennon is expected to return from a groin injury in the coming weeks but, beyond those absentees, Slade's options have been strengthened by the arrivals of new signings Declan Rudd and Jason Pearce, who are both in contention to start.