The MK Dons skipper is not in Croatia with his team-mates for the pre-season camp

Captain Alex Gilbey has not joined his MK Dons team-mates at their pre-season training camp in Croatia after suffering a knee injury on Friday night.

The 31-year-old lasted barely five minutes in the 4-1 win over Maidenhead United before suffering the blow which is now set to keep him out of the early part of the season at the very least.

While the squad flew out to central Europe in the early hours of Sunday morning, Gilbey’s scan on Saturday confirmed the extent of his injury, which assistant head coach Richie Barker confirmed has come as a huge blow.

He said: “Unfortunately, five minutes into that game, he got a slightly clumsy challenge, noting malicious. He twisted his knee, he had a scan on Saturday but he’s not with us for the next few weeks.

“He won’t be playing a part in most of the friendlies now, and we’ll see where he is in a few weeks. We won’t put a timeline on it, but unfortunately for the time being, he won’t be with us. We could’ve brought him with us (to Pula), but it would have meant a lot of sitting around for him.”

Not just on the field, Barker admitted: “He’s a vital part on and off the pitch for us. He’s an excellent captain and has huge admiration from the players.

“We’re missing him on the grass but also in and around the hotel. Most of our communication to the group comes through him.”

While the captain remains at home though, the trio of Kane Wilson, Will Collar and Jay Matete have all joined the training camp after missing the end of last season through injury.

Last week, head coach Paul Warne confirmed Wilson is still several weeks away from a full return to training, while Collar and Matete both had hamstring surgery which meant they missed the end of last term.

Barker said: “We’ve very fortunate that we’ve been able to bring them with us. I’m hopeful all three make it through to the end of the week and by that point, they’ll have had a lot of work with us and will be able to move on too.”