Jay Bird has successful knee operation

Jay Bird has undergone surgery on his knee after picking up an injury in the FA Cup clash with Eastleigh earlier this month.

The striker was sidelined for most of last season with a long-term injury, but appeared to be back on course again, having netted twice against Stevenage in the Papa John's Trophy last month, and being included in Russell Martin's matchday squads.

But the problem he picked up against the National Leauge side proved worse than suspected, and he has since had a successful operation.

"Jay Bird has had an operation which was a success," Martin confirmed. "He took a whack against Eastleigh and it needed a little bit of work, he’s been sorted and will start his rehab now, he’ll be ready and has a good mindset to attack that very quickly."

The 20-year-old is not the only Dons youngster to have suffered long-term injuries early in their career, with both John Freeman and Jack Davies spending long periods on the sidelines in recent years.

Martin continued: "It’s really tough but I feel it can be really beneficial to players long-term as it builds a resilience for them and it grows a gratitude to being a professional footballer because you’re alone a lot.

"It's really tough but John, Jack and Jay have used it to really drive them on to build their mental toughness and make them more robust moving forwards.

"They’ve all come back stronger and when you’re injured, that’s the only time you can work on your areas physically. They’ve all used it in the right way and they’ve all come out of it better for it."