Stuart Douglas today updated us on the extent of Paul Osew’s injury with the left-back having suffered a stress fracture to his tibia.
Paul missed the victory at Gillingham due to the injury and the results of a scan mean that he’s likely to be out injured for six weeks.
“It’s not a big fracture – just one centimetre - but he’s likely to be in a protective boot for three or four weeks,” said Stuart. “That time is needed for the bone to heal and once we’ve consolidated the bone he can come out of the boot and we can get him going again. Paul is only 19, so the bone density probably hasn’t fully matured. He’s played a lot of games and the intensity of first-team football is obviously a lot higher than playing at youth team level. That’s probably the reason why this has happened.”
Paul only recently signed a new contract at AFC Wimbledon, rewarding his impressive progression through the ranks, and Glyn Hodges expects him to come back stronger after the injury.
“It’s just a hiccup for Paul in his career,” said Glyn. “These things happen and it looks like playing all of those games has put a load on him because he hasn’t fully developed yet. There are things that he can work on now so that he will definitely be fit for the start of next season. He can come back fitter and stronger.”
Our manager has plenty of belief in Nesta Guinness-Walker to step-up to the mark with the 20-year-old having made 21 starts in all competitions this season since joining from Met Police.
“Nesta started the season and he has played a lot of games. It’s been great for Nesta and Paul to go head-to-head for the position. They’ve both been in and out of the team, as I’ve decided to rest one of them at various times. Now that Paul is out injured, Nesta will have the last 10 games of this season to put a marker down to keep his place for next season.”
All at AFC Wimbledon wish Paul Osew well in his recuperation from the injury.