Manager's update ahead of trip to Kassam Stadium
Neal Ardley reported that his squad is in good shape ahead of the match at Oxford United on Sunday, but left-back Sean Kelly is facing a spell out with a thigh injury.
Jake Reeves and Dean Parrett are both likely to be available for selection after coming off in the Checkatrade Trophy win against Plymouth and Neal is expecting to include Jon Meades against the left-back's former club after he shrugged off a calf strain.
However, winger Chris Whelpdale is doubtful with an ankle injury.
Speaking during an extensive update for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “Jon Meades trained today and we are hopeful that he will be fine for the game. We need him to be because Sean Kelly felt his thigh in the game the other night. We got it scanned yesterday and he has a grade two tear, which could mean four weeks out. Both Jake and Dean trained today so we are hopeful they will be available for selection.”
Neal added that he’s pleased George Francomb is back involved after his impressive display on Tuesday, but the wide-man may have to sit out a game soon if he requires further dental surgery.
“He is still not quite right and there are a couple of options he can take with it,” Neal said. “We are going to take a few weeks to see how it beds in. It was a really nasty one (injury at Charlton) and I really felt for him. George is only just getting the feeling back he should have, but he was exceptional at right-back the other day. He has matured as a player from the lad who I saw when I first arrived. He is a team player now and it’s great to have him back, even though he might need more work done. He may have to miss a game sometime soon.”
During his interview, Neal was asked by WDON’s Rob Cornell about Wimbledon’s less than complimentary record against Oxford and his reaction to this can be watched via the You Tube link above.
However, the manager has plenty of trust in his squad after a run of just one defeat in 10 games in all competitions, ahead of the trip to the Kassam Stadium.
“Everyone seems in good spirits,” said Neal. “We had a good training session today and we’ve tried to freshen the squad up this week. Everyone is training well and fighting hard. I feel more confident in the group now than I ever have been before. They all seem up to speed. Oxford are very worthy of the form that they are in. They have been better than a lot of the teams they’ve played against recently. They are a really good team and I’ve just said to our boys that we will have to bring our A game on Sunday. We will go there with confidence. If we don’t play well, we are not going to get anything from the game anyway.”
The full seven-minute update from Neal Ardley is now on Dons Player and in interview with Dominic Poleon is also on our premium channel.
recently, this is due to a lack of demand.announcedWe wish to remind supporters that we will be not be showing Sunday’s game on TV screens at the club. As we