AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley has injury concerns ahead of this weekend’s play-off first leg against Accrington Stanley, but he is keeping his cards close to his chest.

For the 1-0 win over Newport County, Ardley made eight changes to the side that secured the Dons place in the League Two shoot-out at Stevenage two weekends ago.

The changes included bringing seven youth team names into the first team, and one of them, 18-year-old Toyosi Olusanya, held his nerve to come off the bench and hit the winner from the penalty spot.

But the changes were not all about giving youth a chance, rather preparing the senior squad for the rigours to come.

Ardley said: “We have one or two players carrying niggles that come from having played 50-odd games, so it was a case of giving them some time to recover.

“There are one or two doubts ahead of the weekend, but I want to keep them quiet – I am hopeful they will be available.”

He added: “We also have a few lads who needed the game time because we need them to have that edge if they’re called up in the play-offs.

“And, of course, we also have a lot of good youth players who, and when we can give them the experience and opportunity to get some first team action, we will.”

One name that has every chance of being on the teamsheet is Connor Smith, who was given the all clear after suffering a neck injury in the Newport win.

Ardley said: “He took a heavy knock, but there wasn’t as much concussion as we first thought.

“It was more of a neck injury and he was in a lot of pain, but the medical team did a wonderful job on the day.

“He went to hospital and the scan came back all clear – hopefully there will be no lasting damage.”

He added: “Connor will be back to training this week, so it will be good to see him, and then we’ll phase him back in and hopefully he will be available to re-join the squad.”