Decision on Maghoma’s fitness will be left until the last minute ahead of Fleetwood clash

MK Dons are sweating on the fitness of Paris Maghoma after the Brentford loanee limped out of the game on Tuesday night against Charlton Athletic.

The midfielder, who was an integral part of Dons’ recent seven-game unbeaten run, has barely missed a minute since he arrived on loan from the Premier League side, but was forced off in the closing stages of the midweek defeat at Stadium MK.

With the long trip to Fleetwood Town ahead, Maghoma trained with the side on Friday but head coach Mark Jackson said they will assess the 21-year-old’s fitness as close to kick-off at Highbury Stadium as they can before making the final decision on whether he will play in the game or not.

“He's not bad, but he's still feeling a fair bit of fatigue,” said Jackson. “He's trained with the squad today (Friday) and there is a decision to be made going into the game tomorrow. We'll see how he comes through tonight.

“Looking at the physical data from the other night, the nubers were really high, the boys put in a shift. But we'll assess him in the morning and adjust the team if we need to.

“We’re hoping he will be ok for the game, but if not we've got players ready to come in and fight for that spot, and fill positions if needs be.”

Maghoma, who scored a dramatic late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Lincoln City at the end of February, has stood out in recent weeks as one of Dons’ key men, and his impact has certainly not gone unnoticed by the head coach.

“During any loan spell, it's about getting into the first team and being able to perform and sustain those performances. I think he has grown and progressively got better.

“He's an important player in the team, is Paris. During our run, he played a really prominent part in that.”