Lewington will not be rushed back in despite making his MK Dons return

Dean Lewington came through his long-awaited return to first-team action unscathed on Tuesday night, but time will tell whether he can become a more regular feature for MK Dons in the next few weeks.

The 39-year-old suffered another hamstring problem in pre-season, having missed several months last term after needing hamstring surgery too.

Absent since Dons’ trip to Germany in July, Lewington was something of a surprise inclusion on the team-sheet in the 4-1 win over Chelsea U21s in the EFL Trophy, but the skipper came through the game well before being replaced just past the hour mark.

Rather than rushing him back into action in League Two though, assistant head coach Chris Lucketti said they will make assessments with the defender to see how he recovers from his first action in nearly two months before throwing him into the side again.

“You’ve got to be mindful of his age and where he’s at,” said Lucketti. “We’ll be guided by him, no-one knows his body better than he does. He’s 39 and he’s got here for a reason. We’ll make sure we follow the right steps to make sure he’s 100 per cent fit.

“He has missed a lot of pre-season with his hamstring issue, so it's good to see him back. His experience is valuable to the team and he performed to a high standard tonight.

“He'll be feeling good about himself and confident in himself physically as well. You can train and train but until you play games, you can't quite tell where you are.

“Nights like tonight are a good test. Chelsea had a lot of young lads who pull you around the pitch and he coped really well. Some of them were young enough to be his son!”