More injury woes for Thompson as he limps out early against Sunderland

Louis Thompson's nightmare season continued for MK Dons on Saturday as he limped out yet again against Sunderland.

After spending more than two months on the sideline with a hamstring tear he suffered at the Stadium of Light back in November, the 26-year-old Norwich loanee went down after 42 minutes in Saturday's 2-2 draw with the Black Cats, just four appearances after making his comeback.

Thompson's career, not least his time at MK Dons across two loan spells, has been fraught with injury. This season alone, he suffered an ankle injury in the pre-season friendly against Arsenal which cost him the start of the season, returning in October before again suffering injury six weeks later.

His latest set-back is likely to see him sidelined for the next few weeks too, but Martin is hopeful the injury is not as bad as feared.

"I'm gutted for Louis – it's not as bad as last time," he said. "He's such a good player, he's shown that on and off the pitch in the last couple of games.

"If Louis Thompson is injury-free, he's not playing here anyway, he's playing for Norwich in the Championship. He got a four-year deal after his first injury because they believe in him so much, as we do.

"It's so frustrating that when he gets an opportunity show he can do it, something like this happens. We have to maybe manage his minutes better. It's difficult, I'm gutted for him. We'll have to see how long this one has him out for.

"All the time I'm here, I want Louis Thompson a part of this team."

There were more injury problems for Ben Gladwin too, who picked up an injury against Sunderland on Tuesday night after coming on off the bench. However, Martin feels Gladwin should be back on Tuesday night against Rochdale, but if not, then against Hull City next Saturday.

He continued: "It's difficult for guys who have had long-term injuries to come back on this pitch. We're training on 3G, which is totally different and it leaves some players vulnerable. It is what it is but it's the reason we can't get our best team on the pitch regularly. The difference in surface has cost Ben today – he tweaked something on Tuesday night but we hope to have him back for Rochdale, if not next Saturday."