Attacking reinforcements due back for MK Dons after threadbare front-line
Options are coming back for head coach Paul Warne
There are no long-term fears regarding the health of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who is likely to be available for selection again as early as next Saturday for MK Dons.
The Guatemalan international missed out on the trip to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday after picking up a knock last week. It meant Paul Warne’s attacking unit was decimated, with Callum Paterson suspended and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy set for a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, leaving Jonathan Leko to make his first league start in seven months at Prenton Park.
The head coach though said there is no concern over Mendez-Laing’s fitness, and with Paterson and the fit-again Aaron Collins now back in contention too, he has plenty of options to pick from when Dons face Fleetwood Town in the early kick off next Saturday at Stadium MK.
“He will be absolutely fine for next week,” Warne said of Mendez-Laing. “He was training on the grass on Thursday and Friday, and he really wanted to play but because he wasn’t 100 per cent, I didn’t want to risk him.
“So we lost the whole front-line from last week, and we’re still without Scott Hogan, and Aaron Collins hasn’t played any minutes, we only really had Leks. We had to shuffle the pack, play in a different way, but there is more than one way to play.
“Next week, we’ll definitely have Pato and Mendez-Laing back, we’ll have Aaron a little bit fitter. It’s all going in the right direction.”
Collins’ return was not the only one in Birkenhead, with full-back Gethin Jones also making his first appearance since August, having undergone hamstring surgery after going down against Newport County.
The return of the Australian gives Warne options and competition for Aaron Nemane, who has been in excellent form since taking over at right wing-back.
Warne continued: “Aaron (Nemane) has been unbelievable for us, but he has had to play every minute of every game, and that’s exhausting. The fact we’ve got back-up for him now is great.
“Gethin doesn’t make bad decisions. He throws the line in the last minute and wins three throw-ins, he puts good crosses in, he defends the box well and he helped put out their threats. It’s exciting to see them back.”