Skipper Lewington back at MK Dons to begin his hamstring rehabilitation

Captain Dean Lewington is back at Stadium MK to undergo his rehabilitation following hamstring surgery.

The 38-year-old underwent the operation in December, but had been unable to drive until recently and had been conducting the start of his rehab at home.

Now out of the leg brace and able to drive himself again, Lewington has returned to MK1 where he has started to work in close proximity with new boss Mark Jackson for the first time, while also undergoing rehab with Adam Ross and the medical team.

Jackson said Lewington’s return has been a big boost in morale for the squad as well as useful for him as he looks to establish himself at the club.

“Dean Lewington is back doing his rehab at the club which is a big boost for me,” said the head coach. “He's a club legend so it's good for me to get to know him.

“He has been doing things at home while he had the brace on, but he can drive now so it'll be a big boost to have the skipper back in and around the place, but also for me to get to know him.

“Already he's sent me messages saying how he didn't realise how many chances and how well we did at Plymouth. Having him around the building is good.”

Duo are close to a return

Both Darragh Burns and Josh Kayode are edging closer to returns too.

Kayode, on loan from Rotherham, has made just 10 appearances for Dons and has not been seen since the end of October, while Burns has been out for a month with an ankle injury he picked up in the 1-1 draw with Burton Albion in early December.

Jackson, updating on the pair, said: “Darragh is back in training - he had a little taste of it on Friday too, but he has come back in today. He's got a big smile on his face, which is great to see. It's a challenging time for players when they're out injured.

“JJ is coming back too, I've just seen him on the leg weights in the gym and he's chomping at it to get back in too.

“Fortunately, we came through the festive period relatively unscathed. We're in good shape.”