Watters’ Dons debut another step towards return to full fitness

Max Watters’ brief cameo at the end of Dons’ 1-0 win over Portsmouth on Saturday was reward for his hard work on his return from injury, said Liam Manning.

The 22-year-old missed the start of the season after picking up an ankle injury in late July after signing on loan from Cardiff City.

Taking part in training last week, Watters was rewarded with a spot on the bench for Saturday’s game, and came on in stoppage time to help see out the victory over Pompey as Dons moved up to fifth in League One.

“It will be a big boost for him,” said head coach Manning after the game. “He's trained all week, has shown good intensity and impact. It will take a little bit of time to get him up to speed given the amount of football he's missed.

“We've got a couple of weeks of solid training before a heavy period of fixtures. It will be good to keep building him up. He should take the confidence from it - it's great to have him back.”