The latest on Barry Fuller ahead of trip to Fratton Park
Neal Ardley has revealed that Barry Fuller’s knee injury is not as bad as first feared and he could return to action before the end of this month.
The full-back, who has been an ever-present this season, was forced off in Saturday’s defeat against Rochdale with an injury that looked particularly serious at the time. Though Wimbledon's vice-captain won’t be ready for Portsmouth away on Saturday, Neal is relieved with the outcome of a scan that showed no ligament damage.
Speaking to Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “We first thought that Barry could be out for months, but the news is really good because there’s no ligament damage. Stuart Douglas believes he will be out for anything between two and four weeks, but Barry is walking around and asking ‘why can’t I train?' That's typical of him. Knowing Barry, it will be around the two weeks mark. That’s a real positive because we have a busy spell coming up in March.”
Neal also provided an upbeat message about Peter Sweeney for Dons Player with the midfielder having started light training after an injury to his foot.
However, Callum Kennedy is not quite ready to return for Portsmouth on Saturday and Charlie Sheringham will also miss out with mild concussion.
Neal added: “Charlie clashed heads with Alan Bennett during training yesterday in a freak incident. Though he continued to train, Charlie felt dizzy afterwards and he was taken to hospital for a scan. He got the all-clear, but we have to keep monitoring him and Saturday may come too soon.”
The Wimbledon manager says his players are eager to restore pride at Fratton Park on Saturday after two successive defeats.
“We would want to do well even if we had 20 of our fans there,” Neal said. “We want to do it for our own pride. When our fans travel to away matches they are phenomenal, but wherever we play we want to restore pride in what we are doing. We all care and we want to put in performances as a team that the fans can be proud of. We are going to try so hard to do that in the 16 games that are left.”
Dons Player subscribers can now watch the full seven-minute interview with Neal Ardley on our premium site.