Both Huseyin Biler and Elliott Bolton could be set to make their long-awaited returns from injury in tonight’s game against Crawley Town.
The two youngsters have both been working hard on their fitness after being sidelined for significant periods and could now get their chance to impress after forming part of the training group in recent weeks.
“Hus has been training with the group. He’s likely to have some involvement,” confirmed Johnnie Jackson. “Elliott has been back for a while. He was out a long time, it’s taken a while for him to build up his fitness and sharpness. He’ll also be in the squad.”
There could also be an opportunity for Will Jääskeläinen to make his debut for Wimbledon, with our manager having been impressed with what he has seen of the shot-stopper so far.
Meanwhile, striker Kyle Hudlin is also expected to be involved again after coming on as a substitute in our recent league games against Northampton Town and Carlisle United.
“He’s trained really well. You can tell that he’s an experienced goalkeeper. Bayzo (Ashley Bayes) has been really happy with the work that he’s done with him. He’s another one that we will look to give an opportunity to as well. It’s important that we see him in games.
“I thought Kyle did well (against Carlisle). He caused them a few issues and won his headers. It’s just a shame we couldn’t capitalise on the chaos that he did cause. We’ve been building his fitness back up since he came back from Huddersfield. This game could be a significant one for him in terms of getting minutes into his legs.”
The match against the Red Devils is likely to come too soon for club captain Alex Woodyard however, with the midfielder still needing extra time to recover from an injury that has kept him on the sidelines so far.
“Woody is progressing. He’s out on the grass running but he’s not trained with the group yet.”
As for the game itself, the gaffer said his side won’t be drawing too much from their victory over the same opponents earlier in our league campaign as we bid to make it two wins from two in the Trophy.
“We won’t be complacent about it. Just because we had a good result against them doesn’t mean we can take them lightly,” he said. “They’re a decent side with players who can hurt us. We’ll have a good and competitive side out. Whoever I pick I’ll be expecting us to win the game, there won’t be any change in our approach.
“We’re letting those standards slip in small moments and it’s costing us – we’re shooting ourselves in the foot in terms of the goals we’ve conceded. We constantly reinforce our principles that were put in place during pre-season. You have to do the basics well in football and if you do those right to an elite level you’ll always have a chance.”
Get your ticket for tonight’s game
Ticket prices are as follows for this evening’s game (7:45pm kick-off):
Adults - £14
Concessions - £12
17 years and under - £5
Buy your ticket now from our online shop or in person at our stadium.
PICS: Lucy Dixon and Pro Sports Images