‘It would be a huge loss’ – Dons boss explains thinking behind Palace and MK games being postponed

AFC Wimbledon’s EFL Trophy game against Crystal Palace’s U21s and the League One clash against Milton Keynes have been postponed due to at least three players from Mark Robinson’s first-team squad being called up to international duty.

Goalkeeper Nik Tzanev, who has played every minute in League One this season, has been called up to the New Zealand squad for their friendlies against Curaçao and Bahrain. The 24-year-old has one senior cap to his name, which he won in 2018 when he made his debut for the All Whites in a 1-0 win against Chinese Taipei.

On-loan Watford forward Dapo Mebude, 20, has been named in Scotland’s U21 squad for their Euro 2023 qualifying clash against Denmark. Mebude turned down the opportunity to play for Scotland’s U21s during the previous international break, as Turkey, their opponents, were on the red list. Therefore, he would have been required to quarantine upon his arrival, and he didn’t want to miss any additional games in League One.

Defender Daniel Csoka has been selected in Hungary’s U21 squad for their Euro 2023 qualifiers against Germany and Poland.

There is also the possibility that Chelsea loanee Henry Lawrence, who was on standby for the England U20 squad last time out, could be selected for their upcoming games against Italy and the Czech Republic.

Robinson told the South London Press: “They’re key players to what we want to do. We haven’t got a huge squad, so it’s very different to other sides – we need our bench to be strong.

“When you take three, potentially four, players away, it’s not just the starting 11 it affects, it affects who is coming on and the strength off the bench. Where we are in terms of our squad numbers, it would be a huge loss for us.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD