AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley is sweating on the fitness of midfield maestro Jake Reeves ahead of this weekend’s trip to Barnet.

Reeves limped out of the win over Luton Town with a dead leg, and he faces a week of physio before a fitness test.

Ardley has also revealed that Karleigh Osborne faces a fight to play again this season after injuring his knee in training last week.

His absence in the win over Luton Town opened the door for Ryan Sweeney, who took his chance with the opening goal.

However, the 18-year-old is also a doubt for this weekend after coming down with a virus.

Ardley said: “Jake was caught in the top of his thigh by a Luton player’s knee when he was fouled.

“He tried to run it off for five minutes, but it was right in the belly of the muscle and every time he tried to push off he just felt it.

“It was dragging him down a bit and they always get worse as you go along.

FOOTBALL: AFC Wimbledon boss aims to keep a steady ship

“Sometimes you can get these things out of your system in a few days, but it can take longer – George [Francomb] had one where it took a couple of weeks – it just depends how deep in the muscle the bruising went and how quickly we can get it out.

“Stuart [Douglas] will do his work with him. He was in Monday, today [Tuesday] and he’ll be in tomorrow.

“If we can get it out of him and get him training Thursday and Friday, he’ll come back into the fold and if not, then he misses the game.”

He added: “It is not great news about Karleigh [Osborne] - he injured his knee in training last week and will have to be in a brace for three weeks before we can re-scan it.

“But there is a chance it could be serious and maybe end his season, we’re not sure yet.”

Meanwhile, one man on the comeback trail is defender Will Nightingale, who has been out since injuring his knee against Notts County in September.

However, Ardley insists the 20-year-old will not be rushed back.

He said: “Will is back doing straight line running, and he may be back towards the end of March, but his was a serious one so we have to make sure he is over it.

“If he does get himself back in contention right at the end of the season, then great, but the problem with Will is that he is 120% in everything he does, so the last thing we want to do is injury the lad again.

“We planned not to have him, so if we get him back at any point during the season then it is a bonus.”