Thompson's injury could keep him out for several months

The hamstring injury Louis Thompson suffered at the Stadium of Light on Saturday could rule him out for three months according to Russell Martin.

Thompson was chasing a loose ball during Dons' 2-1 win over Sunderland in the 81st minute when he pulled up, and had to be replaced for the final nine minutes.

The 25-year-old spoke only last week about his mentality and concern about getting injured again, and his latest set-back could keep him out until February.

Manager Martin confirmed the midfielder, on loan from Norwich, will see a specialist at the end of the week to confirm how long he will be sidelined for.

"It was disappointing to lose Louis for a while now," he said. "It's what we feared. Hopefully, we'll find out a bit more at the end of the week when he sees a specialist to find out a timescale.

"We hope to have him back before the end of the season, he's not completely ruled out. But I don't think it's this side of Christmas, maybe January or February so he can play a part in the end of the season."

Ahead of this Saturday's home game against Hull City, Martin will still be without George Williams, Kieran Agard and Joe Mason, but said Jordan Houghton is back in contention.

He said: "George is looking better, Jordan Houghton is training and ready so that's good news for us. Kieran is back on the training pitch and Joe Mason will be back with the squad in the next dew days.

"We're getting players back slowly but surely, and with the fixtures coming thick and fast again we'll need people back quickly. We have ot be careful with them and manage the situation constantly."