Port Vale v MK Dons preview

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Port Vale defender Neill Collins is on course to be fit for the visit of MK Dons.

Collins, on loan from League One rivals Sheffield United, missed Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Rochdale after suffering a groin strain in the 2-1 home loss to Colchester three days previously.

Unlike Collins, leading scorer Tom Pope did not train on Thursday after injuring his right ankle. However, the 11-goal striker has not been ruled out of the weekend.

On-loan Everton midfielder Francisco Junior has though, and he may not feature again this season due to the hamstring problem he sustained a fortnight ago.

MK Dons will have an unchanged squad as they chase a fifth straight win.

Midfielders Carl Baker and Ben Reeves remain out with calf injuries. It is hoped Baker may be back for the home game against Leyton Orient on April 18 while Reeves could possibly feature again this season if the Dons are involved in the play-offs.

Milton Keynes manager Karl Robinson has rotated his attacking players throughout the campaign and will probably do so again, with the likes of Danny Green, Dean Bowditch, Daniel Powell and Devante Cole all pushing for recalls.

The Dons have not won five matches on the spin since 2012 but doing so at Vale Park would keep them firmly in the race for automatic promotion.

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Port Vale v MK Dons preview

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Rob Taylor and Jennison Myrie-Williams are the latest additions to Port Vale’s growing list of absentees ahead of the visit of MK Dons.

Taylor has aggravated a thigh injury while Myrie-Williams is ill and neither player is expected to recover in time for Friday’s match. Manager Micky Adams is already without skipper Doug Loft for the rest of the season after he suffered serious facial injuries in a training ground bust-up with Dan Jones, who following the incident has had his contract terminated.

Centre-half Joe Davis had to come off with a hamstring injury during the first half of the 4-2 defeat to Notts County last weekend and he will also miss the remainder of the campaign, while midfielder Chris Lines is still in the midst of a four-match suspension.

Adams might struggle to name five substitutes on the bench and may have to hand a debut to teenage defender Nathan Smith, who was an unused sub at Meadow Lane.

MK Dons will assess Antony Kay ahead of the trip to Port Vale.

Kay sustained a thigh injury in the lead up to last weekend’s home game against Crawley and with two matches in the space of just four days over the Easter period, the Dons medical team will monitor the 31-year-old central defender.

Stephen Gleeson (calf) will also be watched closely but fellow midfielder Larnell Cole, who was on loan from Fulham, has returned to his parent club after undergoing knee surgery on Monday.

The Dons must win to keep their already faint play-off hopes alive. Karl Robinson’s men are nine points adrift of sixth-placed Peterborough with just four games left to play.