Tom Soares and Tennai Watson are both expected to be vying for first-team recalls at Burton Albion on Saturday.
Simon Bassey confirmed that midfielder Soares joined in training today after shaking off a hamstring strain and right-back Watson (pictured) is in contention after being rested in recent games.
The League One match at Burton will be Wimbledon’s eighth game in 29 days since the new season started, but Simon believes the squad are in good shape to start putting points on the board.
“It has been a hectic start to the season with loads of games and we’ve used the squad, which is good,” said our first-team coach. “Every player who has come in has really done well for us and the fitness levels have been great. Certainly with 10 men the other night some of the stats the boys produced were through the roof. Credit to them as they have all recovered and they are ready to go again, which is what we want.
“Tennai trained today and Tom was back involved, so we are hoping to have those two available for Saturday. Obviously, Rod (McDonald) misses out due to suspension, but we are up to speed and we should have a good number to choose from.”
Despite results having not gone Wimbledon’s way recently, the performances have been rightly viewed in a positive light and so too have the impressions created by young players stepping up to the mark.
“I think we have all been happy with the performance levels, but converting them into points is what ultimately we are about,” said Simon. “We feel we have assembled a good squad, a good team, and our performances have been excellent in large spells of the season so far. If a couple of decisions had been different we could certainly be sitting here with 10 points. We all want to play well, but we know we’re here to pick results up and we are concentrating on doing that.
“It was a big game the other night for Toby (Sibbick) because he had not played three first-team games on the spin before. Physically, it was a big ask for him, but he acquitted himself really well, as all of the young players did. I think we could all be very proud with the performances that they put in. There are a shirts up for grabs. We are a young team and the manager has shown that he has no fear of giving young players a chance. To have three from our own academy in the finishing 11 the other night was a real credit to everyone.”
The full update from Simon can be viewed on iFollow by clicking on the link above and a more extensive preview of the Burton match will be on the official website tomorrow.