Mason's injury came at the worst possible time

The striker was injured on the eve of the new season, after spending nearly six months out of the game after he was released by Wolves in January, and only made his return to first-team action last weekend.

Mason, 28, said the injury could not have come at a worse time but he is ready to show MK Dons fans what they have been missing in his absence.

"It's the worst time you can get injured, just coming to a team," he said. "We are all excited for the new season to start, but the injury came, and it was a bit of a freak injury, so it was really frustrating.

"From the moment I got here, I wanted to make an impression. I got the injury before the season even started, so now I'm really happy to be back on the pitch. Hopefully I can make a contribution this weekend.

"I could see the run we were going through was tough, and all I wanted to do was help. It was hard being on the sidelines, but I'm trying to look forward now, put the injury behind me and help the team as much as I can."

After two substitute appearances against Port Vale and Wycombe Wanderers this week, Mason said he is on the brink of his first start for the club, but said he has to be patient and come back when he is fully ready.

He said: "It's hard to gauge in training. I can only really tell when I start to get more minutes. I feel good in training but playing games is completely different. I'm confident in my self that I'll get up to speed pretty quick.

"I've been eased in nicely so far, I've come off the bench and we'll go from there. The injury feels fine so it's up to the manager now.

"We always had a plan for me to come back, so I was never rushed and everything went well. But I put pressure on myself to score goals, so there's no more pressure on me to do that."