The former Derby County man posted a picture from his bed after the surgery

Top-scorer Nathaniel Mendez-Laing confirmed his surgery has been a success after he went under the knife on Saturday morning.

The MK Dons winger suffered the injury a week prior, in the first-half of the 1-1 draw with Cambridge United. During the week, the 33-year-old said he would go under the knife, while MK Dons head coach Paul Warne said the Guatemalan international would be missing from action until around March time.

Posting on social media on Saturday ahead of watching his team-mates power past Harrogate Town 4-0 in the final game before Christmas, Mendez-Laing posted a picture from his hospital bed to give an update on his condition following his operation.

“Surgery all went well!” he wrote. “Big thank you to the Docs and nurses at The Princess Grace hospital and again thank you for all your messages and support! Road to recovery starts now.”

Aaron Collins netted his first league goals for the club in the win at the Exercise Stadium, and later posted that he told Mendez-Laing he would score in his honour, while captain Alex Gilbey, who also netted a brace in north Yorkshire, said losing his team-mate for the foreseeable future was a big blow to the whole squad.

“It upset the group seeing what has happened to Mendez,” said Gilbey after netting his seventh and eighth goals of the campaign. “He’s such a big part on and off the pitch, he’s a huge part of the culture we drive. I know the operation has gone well today so we’re looking forward to having him back.”

With the return of Collins coming in November, Mendez-Laing’s absence threatened to leave Dons short in attack, but Saturday also saw the return of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy after a month on the sidelines.

Gilbey continued: “Rush is unbelievable, and we’ve seen that earlier in the season. To have him back now as well is amazing. We’ll need these sorts of players in the coming weeks, because we know the task at hand.”