Jon Meades is a doubt for this weekend’s clash with Leyton Orient, but if his enthusiasm for AFC Wimbledon matches his powers of recovery, then nothing will stop him pulling on the Dons jersey come Saturday.

The 24-year-old defender was taken out of the action in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crawley with a shoulder injury, and then again in Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge with an ankle injury.

Going into this this weekend’s League Two play-off battle at the CRRS, the Dons are inside the promised-land by four points with four games to play.

Whether Meades will feature in any of those games will depend on an assessment this week on the ankle injury.

He said: “It was an innocuous one, I went to block a clearance and my foot got planted and I rolled over on my ankle.

“It swelled up, but it was better on Wednesday morning and I’ll get it assessed [on Thursday].

“I am praying it is not that serious because it is the worst time of the season to get injured.”

He added: “The injury against Crawley came off a naughty challenge which, if the ref had seen it, should have been a red card.

“If he has seen it, and not done anything about it then he’s made a mistake.

“The Crawley player challenged me with little chance of winning the ball and caught me in the face.

“I lost my bearings and fell heavily on my shoulder. I need to learn to protect myself better, but the player had no right to do that.”

Victory over Leyton Orient could, if other results go their way, cement the Dons’ place in the play-offs.

They go into the game on the back of a four-match 100 per cent record, which showed no sign of ending at Dagenham & Redbridge.

“It was a potential banana skin and so it was a professional performance from all the boys,” Meades said.

“Because they had been relegated, we did not know what to expect. It could have given them real freedom, with a ‘nothing to lose’ kind of attitude.

“We’re not in the play-offs yet, there are still four games to play.

Yes, we have some momentum, and we have played well to win the past four games.

“We’ve played well for a while, but it seems that maybe the luck has swung our way a little – I am thinking of Jake Reeve’s fantastic winner against York City – another day that goes over.”

He added: “Against Northampton and Bristol Rovers we put in some good performances against two of the best teams in the league, and it was only by fine margins that we did not get more out of those games, things just were not going for us.

“What is disappointing is that had we been able to turn some of the draws into wins, then we could be challenging for an automatic promotion place.”

Despite that disappointment, Meades reckons the Dons still have one of the best squads in the league, even though boss Neal Ardley has been working within tight financial constraints.

Meades said: “I truly believe we have one of the best squads in the league.

“A lot of that that is down to the gaffer’s recruitment over the summer and during the season.

“With the budget he has, he’s done an amazing job to get the squad we have.

“It says a lot about his man-management, and that is a huge part of why we are where we are.”