The midfielder spoke about his first nine months at MK Dons

When Dan Crowley signed for MK Dons in January, his vision of what was to come may have looked a lot different to how the subsequent nine months have panned out.

The 28-year-old arrived after a lengthy courtship of the midfielder, Notts County accepting a bid from Dons after initially rebuffing their approaches the previous summer, Crowley said he was moving to to help the club fight for promotion as, at the time, the hottest property in the division.

But his arrival coincided with a season-defining slump for the side, costing Scott Lindsey his job, before injury struck to rule Crowley out of action for nearly five months.

Missing the start of Paul Warne’s reign, Crowley said there were some difficult elements of his injury, with a sense of missing out, especially during pre-season.

He said: “Pre-season was difficult because everyone has the buzz for coming back, going away on the pre-season tour, so that made things difficult.

“I’ve settled here. It’s a really good group, as it was last season but the manager has brought in great characters that have added to the team, made the team better on and off the pitch.”

While some players struggle during their time on the sidelines, Crowley said his religious nature helped him greatly as he rehabbed through the summer.

“My faith in God got me through,” he said. “I know things will be more than fine, He’s going to make it right. What I’ve lost, he’ll make it right. I trust in him that I’ll get back fit, and start playing again.

“I came in in January, we finished the way we finished and then I got injured so it is not a great start, but I believe God will turn it around for me.”

Back in the side again though on his return, Crowley had to bide his time getting back into the starting line-up. An unused substitute on several occasions before making his return against Grimsby Town a couple of weeks ago, there was a big sigh of relief from the midfielder as he was finally able to escape one thing in particular.

“Those runs after games were minging!” he joked. “They’ve been brutal, and I always asked what they were going to be like! It’s a relief not to have to do them any more.”