Emotional Hunter feared the worst with latest hamstring injury

Being told he will be out for six weeks was taken as good news by MK Dons midfielder Ash Hunter.

The 27-year-old limped out of the 3-1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra last weekend, suffering a hamstring injury at the Mornflake Stadium.

But Dons head coach Graham Alexander revealed Hunter feared a recurrence of the same hamstring injury which kept him out for five months last season while at Morecambe.

After having a scan on the ailment though, Alexander said Hunter was relieved to find out the problem is not as severe, but will still keep him out until late October at least.

“He'll be out for a five or six weeks with a hamstring injury,” the head coach said. “We're actually quite pleased about it, because he had a severe injury last year, missing five months.

“He was quite emotional last week because he thought he'd done it again. But it's in a different spot and is not as bad.

“He was fearing the worst so for him, it's a bonus. We told him to stay positive, not to jump the gun. We tried to keep him composed, and we look after the players well. We told Ash to come back better, to improve his overall condition.”

Update on MJ Williams

Fellow midfielder MJ Williams will see more specialists next week to see whether he can return to training.

The former Bolton man picked up an injury against Crawley last month and has been limited to a substitute appearance since.

While the 27-year-old has told Alexander he feels good enough to return to training, his history of knee injuries mean Dons are keen to get the experts’ opinion before allowing him to get back on the training pitch with them again.

Alexander added: “He's going to see someone on Monday, someone who knows him and his injury from before, after having had injections last week. He's feeling good in himself, which is positive, and thinks he can train next week.

“But I'll let the experts decide that.”