Midfielder Jack Rudoni has made good progress after returning to full training and Glyn Hodges will therefore include him in the squad for our match at Leyton Orient.
The Dons have an opportunity to make it three victories out of three in Southern Group G on Tuesday night (7.00 pm kick-off), which would ensure that Wimbledon go through as group winners.
It could also provide an important step on the road to recovery for 19-year-old midfielder Rudoni, who has not featured so far this season after suffering from concussion.
Following the disappointment of the 2-1 home defeat against Accrington Stanley, our manager is demanding a positive response, and there’s the incentive of first-team places being up for grabs.
“You have to lick your wounds and get ready for the next match - that’s what this league is all about,” said Glyn. “With a different side on Tuesday the players will be thinking they have a chance of getting into the team. If good performances are produced on the night we might be looking at a different starting line-up for the next league game.
“We have hard matches coming up this month with a lot of travelling. At least I know when players get minutes in this competition that everyone is playing consistently and they are ready if they are called upon for league matches. It’s a competition that I quite like and we will be aiming for another victory on Tuesday night.”
The Dons face a Leyton Orient side that only returned to League 2 match action on Saturday after two weeks without a game. Due to Covid-19 cases within the squad, players returning positive tests had to isolate for 10 days in line with Government guidelines. The first match back ended with a 2-0 home defeat, but that did come against a Cheltenham side that reached the play-off semi finals last season. Orient manager Ross Embleton made no excuses after the home loss.
“We either embrace this, or we moan about it, sit back, and whinge,” said Embleton. “We are not going to whinge, we are going to dust ourselves down. There will be a number of them that have to play on Tuesday. I am pleased with the spirited approach, performance, and the attitude shown. The first-half didn’t go according to the plan that we went through before the game, but we were playing against a good team. Let’s not take anything away from Cheltenham. They were probably in a very difficult scenario: coming here and having to play against us after all the stories that have gone with it. Unfortunately, we came up against a very good team after very little preparation for us.”
The game held at Leyton Orient (7.00 pm kick-off on Tuesday night) is available to fans based in the UK for a match pass price of £10. Subscribers with a season pass will also be able to access the game. It will be available to supporters based overseas.
You can access live coverage by visiting the iFollow Match Centre. If you have any issues please e-mail iFollow@efl.com