The return was nearly completed deep into stoppage time at the end of the game

It was not quite the fairy tale return for Jonathan Leko thanks to an offside flag in stoppage time, but saw the end of a 14 month journey back to fitness.

The 25-year-old made his long-awaited MK Dons return in the 1-0 win over Cheltenham Town after a cruciate knee ligament, picked up last February while on loan at Burton Albion ruled him out of the game.

Coming on with 21 minutes to go as a replacement for Callum Hendry, Leko showed no signs of fear as he put himself about, nearly got in behind on a couple of occasions and even had the ball in the net deep into stoppage time for what should have been Dons’ second of the day, only to see it chalked off for offside.

“The whole place erupted when he came on, from all of us when he scored and the fans singing his name,” said Gladwin afterwards. “It's massive to have him back, and he really contributed.

“To be out for that length of time, to come back into a Football League game and to give what he gave was exeptional. I'm so pleased for him on a personal level, and on a selfish level to have someone like him involved again.”

Match-winner Jack Sanders, whose first-half effort did count and ultimately won the game for Dons, said the whole dressing room was delighted for Leko to make his return and take the acclaim from the fans afterwards.

He said: “It was brilliant to see Leko back out on the pitch. We’ve all seen the hard work he puts in. It has been more than a year since he has been out, and it’s a really close unit here, and we’re all absolutely buzzing for him, we know how hard the journey has been.

“We’re delighted to have him back, and you could see he gives us a different dimension and looked pretty dangerous.”